Sports
VICTOR Nwangwu, a seasoned sports administrator, says only state governments have the financial capacity to effectively manage professional clubs in Nigeria.
Nwangu expressed the opinion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) on Monday in Akwa against the backdrop of the ongoing debate on the propriety or otherwise of Anambra Government’s involvement in the management of football in the country.
NAN reports that Tony Oli, Chairman, Anambra Sports Development Commission (ASDC), had recently said that the chances of Anambra Government floating a football club was slim, noting it would only provide enabling environment for private sector-driven football sector to thrive.
Oli’s view was corroborated by Odi Ikpeazu, President of Anambra United FC, who said government had no business managing football but could only provide the enabling environment for the private sector-run football business to thrive.
Ikpeazu said, “I do agree that governments ought not to own football clubs; clubs should be private sector-driven in accordance with solvent demographics.”
But Nwangwu disagreed with both sports administrators, saying the teeming talented youths in the state stood to benefit a lot only if the state government had the political will to emulate other states whose clubs were thriving.
The football technocrat said that evidence abounded of how many football greats in Nigeria shot to limelight with the platform provided by state-owned clubs like Rangers International FC of Enugu.
He said no club left entirely in the hands of private investors in Nigeria had survived financial hardships, “as time has proven they don’t have the capacity to successfully run clubs in this clime.”
Nwangwu said that providing the enabling environment could not be a substitute for funding a state club; we had them before and they failed.
He listed some of the privately-owned clubs that were defunct to include Abiola Babes, Stationary Stores, Jasper, Udorji, ACB, NNB, and Iwuanyanwu Nationale, before the Imo Government rescued it and even formed another one among others.
“If Anambra Government in its wisdom says we are not going to have a state-owned club, so be it; we are not hearing anything different; successive governments of the state have said and done the same.
“But I beg to disagree; it is a regrettable decision, I need to point out that the rest of the states who have state clubs, some two or three are not foolish or don’t understand governance or youth-centered policies.
“Governments engage in football venture not only as a mouthpiece and public relation outfit per se but also as a means of providing opportunities for talented youths to pursue their dreams and move up in social mobility,” he told NAN.
“Rangers FC is the pride of the Igbo man and every Igbo man, who survived the war has an emotional attachment to the club.
“Rangers have contributed immensely and given so much to the development of Nigerian football at large and their exploits have been recognised beyond the shores of Nigeria.
“At a time, Rangers contributed between four and six starting players in the defunct Nigerian Green or extant Super Eagles.
“There wouldn’t have been Rangers if governments of the former Eastern Region perceived that they had no business in owning a club,” he said.
Nwangwu explained how Anambra youths dominated the national football space in the 1970s through the 1990s because of the platform that1 the then Anambra-owned Rangers International FC provided them.
“With Rangers, Enugu became a towering football city which, until recently, had the biggest stadium in the whole of former Eastern Nigeria and was always allocated slot in the selection of the host cities for all the World Cup tournaments Nigeria has hosted.
“When you talk of Rangers of yore say from first to third generation, you are talking of youths of Anambra state origin as presently constituted, not the Anambra state that had Enugu as its capital and consisted of Ebonyi, Enugu and present Anambra.
“In the first generation of Rangers, the present Anambra State had nine out of 11 stars, the none Anambra indigenes then, were Dominic Nwobodo and Shedrack Ajero; this is verifiable.
“Again, the first Green Eagles that won the first laurel for Nigeria in the 1973 All African Games had five out of 18 players from today’s Anambra State,” he said.
Nwangwu named the players as Godwin Achebe (Capt), Emma Okalla, Paulinus Ezike, Dominic Ezeani and Matthias Obianika.
“The Super Eagles that won the second laurel for Nigeria in 1980 was captained by Christian Chukwu took the same pattern.
“We had Emmanuel Okalla, Alloy Atuegbu, Ifeanyi Onyedika, Okey Isima and Sylvanua Okpala,” he said.
Nwangwu restated his view that Anambra should have a state-owned football club deserving of its status as a power house of Nigerian football.
He noted that that would undoubtedly provide the needed rallying platform for players of the state origin.
NAN reports that 16 of the 20 clubs that participated in the 2018/2019 Nigeria Professional Football League season are state-owned.
NAN
– Aug. 26, 2019 @ 14: 00 GMT /
Tags: Anambra: Nwangwu disagrees with ASDC boss on state ownership of football club
