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Congratulations
Taoreed on being appointed as Sports minister in Nigeria. “I rejoice
for you and I rejoice for myself”. I rejoice, because, for the first
time in the history of sports administration in Nigeria, we have an
astute politician cum sports technocrat, who has been eager to see
positive changes in sports administration named a minister of sports. I
remember very vividly, our last discussion on this issue, when we met
in Abuja a few years ago. You are now positioned to actualise some of
those dreams. Let no one deceive you, you don’t need a decade or four
years to institutionalise some aspects of sports management in Nigeria.
You know the terrain very well and I guess that with both eyes closed,
you should be able to navigate your way – politically and
professionally, around the cabal, seemingly, in charge of sports in
Nigeria today.

Yes, Hon Sports
Minister and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, you can make a
difference within the next couple of months, if you strategically avoid
the two sides of the coin and concentrate on the edge. This is what
most administrators don’t take into consideration in this part of the
world. Your predecessor Bio (the fire-brand minister), looked at the
other side of the coin and almost slipped. He was just one lucky man.
And you are extra lucky it seems, because I am sure Mr “Fix-it” will
not be able to fix you up the way your predecessors – apart from Bio
and late Mark Aku, were fixed up.

But then, you will
have to watch your steps with the coterie of professional charlatans
and hypocrites in your commission and ministry.

The marriage
between EDUCATION and SPORTS should also be a priority to you. It
should be said that as the first Physical and Health Education Ph.D
holder and former Education Commissioner, plus indefatigable grassroots
politician, you have the pedigree to illuminate the darkness that has
engulfed Nigerian sports. You should embark on the process immediately
and it sincerely does not matter whether you will be able to complete
it or not. It will be on record that Taoreed Adedoja laid the
foundation and for all I care, you never can tell if you will be the
one to continue after May 2011.

Please leave
football matters alone for now. As far as I am concerned, it will take
the divine intervention to rescue the NFF or NFA from the looming
disaster, the cabal managing our football are either ignorantly or
intentionally, planning. Our elders say “…when the tortoise is
heading on a senseless journey and the tortoise is asked when it will
be wise in order to come back home, the tortoise will respond – ‘not
until I have been disgraced’…”

Football crisis

I have the mandate
of the Creator of the Heavens and the earth, to say the truth, the
entire truth, and nothing but the truth. And a truth is absolutely
clear. The way and manner football is currently being administered in
Nigeria, is leading the “football ship”, slowly but steadily towards
the rock.

Yes, Hon. Minister,
you should look at other sports like Tennis, Table Tennis and Boxing.
These sports have been kidnapped by those I refer to as ‘prostitutes
and perambulators’. These sports have no bottom-up pyramids that will
ensure functional grassroots participation, needed to guarantee career
line for millions of Nigerian children. All we hear and see are
fruitless competitions, either politically motivated or designed to
line the pockets of some so-called sports developers.

Take tennis for
example, the annual Governor’s cup tournament that holds in Lagos has
been on for ten years and only one Nigerian player, Sule Ladipo has
made the country proud, and that was during the early editions of the
international tournament.

Ten years on, with
millions of tax payers’ monies, we have no records to prove that tennis
is developing in Nigeria. There are about 20 standard tennis courts in
Nigeria today but the questions are: – Are these courts meant for
Society Tennis or for the development of the potentials we have in
abundance in Nigeria?

Who are the
trainers or coaches handling grassroots training programmes in Nigeria?
How many trainers/coaches, apart from Coach Rotimi Akinloye, are
recognised by the International Tennis Federation? What are the roles
of Sadiq Abdullahi, acclaimed to be the tennis ambassador of this great
nation, in grassroots tennis development? Is there any programme for
tennis development in our schools and by schools I mean from primary to
our tertiary institutions?

I wonder if
Nigerians know that the erstwhile 1st Deputy President of the World
Table Tennis Confederation is a Nigerian. Not only that, the immediate
past Secretary- General of the NOC, Olabanji Oladapo is also a Table
Tennis man. Meanwhile, we were disgraced at the last Commonwealth Games
in India.

But
congratulations once again, Minister. One thing you can be sure of is
our prayers and professional support. Please consider this column as a
very friendly platform for those of us dedicated to saving Nigerian
sports.

To all our readers, we say compliments of this awesome season. May
the reason of the season manifest in your lives, homes, businesses and
in Nigerian sports. Please remember to appreciate God for keeping us
till this day and continue to pray that all the trees God has not
planted in Nigerian sports, should be uprooted, speedily. Please say
Amen

Nigerian rugby
ended the year with the successful hosting of an inaugural end of year
festival called Hemingway Safari 7’s Rugby Tournament.

The festival, which
took place between 21st and 22nd of December at the Lagos Polo Club,
saw 12 teams from Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Edo, Delta and Lagos battling
it out.

In the main event
of the festival, held on the second day, the Nigerian All Stars elite
Rugby squad beat Barewa RFC by 21-0 to win home the tournament’s cup.
Racing RFC overcame Shell Warri RFC 19-12 in a keenly contested match
to take home the tournament’s plate.

Side attractions at
the two day rugby festival included a coaching clinic for kids, mini
rugby games, and a women’s rugby exhibition match.

Kayode Oguntayo, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Rugby Football Federation, expressed satisfaction with the event.

“This is a great
way to end a successful rugby calendar year for rugby in Nigeria. The
tournament was a great afternoon of quality Nigerian Rugby.”

According to the
Nigerian Rugby Football Federation, Nigeria has been included in the
Confederation of African Rugby 2011 Championships and this year end
festival served as a platform for members of the future national team
to showcase their skills.

The rugby body also announced that trials for the Black Stallions, the Nigerian Rugby team will start early in 2011.

Antonio Cassano
flew with new team AC Milan to their mid-season training base in Dubai
on Monday while Ronaldinho is due to join the Serie A leaders later
despite Brazil’s Gremio hoping to sign him.

Italy forward
Cassano, whose move from Sampdoria will be made official when the
January transfer window opens, was cheered by fans at Milan’s main
airport when he turned up in a Rossoneri tracksuit.

A Milan spokesman
said Ronaldinho would be flying to Dubai from Brazil later and that no
deal to sell the former world player of the year had been agreed.

However, media
reports said talks over a deal with Gremio were taking place and the
30-year-old was expected to be allowed to leave given he has dropped
down the pecking order under new coach Massimiliano Allegri and his
Milan contract ends in June.

Serie A resumes from its mid-season break on January 6.

Earlier Mario Balotelli hit a hat-trick,
including two penalties, to help Manchester City beat Aston Villa 4-0
and briefly occupy top spot.

United
had needed only a point to leapfrog their neighbours but looked on
course for all three after Dimitar Berbatov burst into life in the 58th
minute to open the home defence with a neat backheel then finish the
move with a low drilled shot.

However,
Birmingham, beaten at home only once this season, fought back strongly
and Lee Bowyer scrambled the equaliser in the 89th minute to leave
United with seven draws and one win from their eight away games.

The
draw took them to 38 points from 18 games, ahead on goal difference of
Manchester City, who have played 20. Arsenal, in action at Wigan
Athletic Wednesday, have 35 from 18 with Tottenham Hotspur fourth on 33
after beating Newcastle United 2-0.

Champions
Chelsea, who have taken just six points from the last 24 having lost to
Arsenal Monday, slip to fifth on 31. They are also in action Wednesday
against Wigan Athletic.</

The former Minister
of Sports and Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), Ibrahim Bio
says he has laid a foundation of honesty and integrity that others can
build on to take sports in Nigeria to a higher level.

Bio, speaking
through his aide, Olukayode Thomas, said during his eight-month reign
as Sports Minister and Chairman of the NSC, he made sure it was no
longer business as usual as both staff of the commission and of
departments under the supervision of the NSC changed their attitude to
work.

The former minister
said though his tenure was short, it recorded a lot of successes for
Nigeria in sports. The first, he said, was the success of Nigerian
athletes at the Africa Judo Championship in Yaoundé, Cameroon where the
country won 3 bronze medals. He added that at the 2nd Tournoi
International Judo Championship in Libreville, Gabon, Nigeria won 5
gold medals, while Ifeoma Iheanacho won a bronze medal for Nigeria in
the women’s 67kg category at the 2010 World Wrestling Championship in
Moscow, Russia.

Success in India

Bio said one of his
biggest contributions to Nigerian sports was the country’s performance
at the Commonwealth Games where, as despite the late release of funds,
he ensured that the athletes put up a decent performance at the games,
finishing with 35 medals comprising 11 gold, 8 silver an 14 bronze
medals to record its second best performance ever at the Games.

“Despite these
challenges, Nigeria’s flag was the first to be raised in India during
the games through the excellent performance of 18-year-old Augustina
Nwaokola, who won the first gold medal of the Games and set a new
Commonwealth Games record in the 48 Kg women weightlifting event,” he
said.

He also noted that
facilities development was another area in which an impact was made.
The former minister explained that in a bid to encourage sports
participation in the grassroots, he awarded contracts for the
construction of 43 mini sports centres across the country valued at
N1.806 billion.

Against all odds

According to
Thomas, the minister would have done a lot more for football had it not
been for the selfishness of a few individuals.

“Bio wanted to
change the face of our football and turn it into a self sustaining
business but the cabal that held our football captive for over 20 years
used their cohorts locally and internationally to frustrate the
project. It was either threat of FIFA ban or suspension on a daily
basis.

“It got to a point
that Bio begged God to expose the enemies of Nigeria, who were
threatening us with ban and suspension. God did. Those threatening us
with ban and suspensions have been suspended from the game,” Thomas
said.

He added that despite opposition to Bio’s football reforms his
tenure witnessed the Super Falcons reclaiming the title as Africa’s
Women Champions for the sixth time and automatically qualifying for the
Women’s World Cup in Germany, 2011. The National U-20 female national
team, the Falconets also put up a very brilliant performance at the
U-20 Women World Cup held in Germany, in July, 2010.

England manager
Fabio Capello has backed calls to play the 2022 World Cup during the
winter, fearing that Qatar’s ferocious heat could force players to
spend weeks cooped up in hotels if the tournament is held in summer.

Capello said that building air conditioned stadiums for the event would not be enough.

“It will not be
easy for the players to stay all day in the hotel, you can’t run around
the hotel,” he told reporters at an event in Dubai on Tuesday.

“It’s a big
problem, not only for the training, you have to spend the time, all the
day in the hotel, you can’t go around to relax, to do something
different.

“When you stay together for long time you need to relax to do something different, not only training or playing,” he added.

“That’s why I think
it would be a good idea to play in January or February.” FIFA president
Sepp Blatter has said he would not object to a January-February World
Cup and UEFA president Michel Platini is also sympathetic to the idea.

On Tuesday, Asian
Soccer Federation president Mohammed Bin Hamman, a Qatari, reiterated
his country’s view that June and July would not be a problem.

“I believe our
country has submitted a bid where they would like to organise and host
the World Cup in June/July and they have actually presented also the
solution for the heat challenges,” he said.

“So our country
actually is ready and willing to host a very comfortable World Cup in
the summer season.” Defending La Liga But he declined to write off the
winter alternative.

“The month of
January is a sort of dead season, most of the leagues in Europe are
suspended, they are not playing during that time,” he said.

“It’s not going to
affect practically, the leagues or the clubs if they played the World
Cup in January.” However, Barcelona president Sandro Rosell said a
January/February tournament would disrupt the Spanish season which does
not have a winter break.

“I have to stand up
for the Spanish league. The World Cup has to be in June, July,” he
said. “I don’t like to break the Spanish league because it’s one of the
leagues in Europe that continues in January”.

Reuters

Avi Cohen, Israel’s
best-known soccer player in the late 1970s and early 80s and a league
title winner with Liverpool, died on Tuesday from head injuries
suffered in a traffic accident, his son Tamir Cohen said.

Cohen, who was 54, was thrown from his motorcycle after a collision with a car in Tel Aviv on December 20.

Doctors declared
Cohen brain dead on Tuesday, Tamir told reporters gathered outside Tel
Aviv’s Ichilov hospital where the former soccer star had been treated.

“To our great
sadness, a health ministry committee was in the hospital today and
confirmed that our father is indeed brain dead. Which is to say, he has
died,” a tearful Tamir Cohen announced.

Tamir, who plays for Bolton Wanderers in England, had flown from Britain to be at his father’s side.

Cohen’s 18-year playing career began in 1974 with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He went on to make 64 appearances for Israel, 33 as captain.

A defender, he played when Israel were affiliated to FIFA’s Asia and then Oceania confederations.

It was a period
when Israeli clubs and players had very little contact with the top
leagues in Europe and he became the first Israeli to play in England’s
top flight when in 1979 he joined the great Liverpool side of the day.

Exploit at the Anfield

He made 24
appearances for Liverpool, scoring one goal in the match against Aston
Villa that secured Liverpool the 1979-80 league title.

He also scored an own goal in the match.

After his two
seasons at Liverpool, Cohen returned to Israel and rejoined his boyhood
club Maccabi Tel Aviv. In 1988 he briefly played for Glasgow Rangers
who were at the time managed by Graeme Souness, a former Liverpool team
mate.

He was chairman of
the Israeli Professional Footballers Association for the past eight
years and was a regular local radio and television pundit.

Shortly after his
death was announced the radio sports programme on which he was a
regular played the Liverpool FC anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” in his
honour.

Reuters

The Nigeria
Football Federation will today hold the concluding part of its 2010
Annual General Assembly at the Meridian Hotel in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The first part of
the NFF’s 2010 Annual General Assembly was held at the International
Conference Centre, Abuja on August 26, but only the elections into the
NFF Executive Committee were dealt with at the time.

NFF President Aminu
Maigari, some Members of the Executive Committee and principal officers
of the secretariat arrived Uyo yesterday alongside other delegates from
the Football Associations of the 36 States and the Federal Capital
Territory.

NFF President,
Aminu Maigari is expected to declare the meeting open with his welcome
address and would thereafter present the President’s activity report as
well as the consolidated and revised balance sheet and the
profit-and-loss statement of the federation.

Key decisions

The General
Assembly will also approve the financial statements and the NFF’s
Budget for the Year 2011. It is a heavily loaded year with programmes
such as the Africa U-20 Championship and World U-20 World Cup
competitions (in Libya and Colombia respectively), the FIFA Women’s
World Cup (Germany), the All-Africa Games in Mozambique, qualifiers for
the 2012 African Cup of Nations holding in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea,
qualifiers for the London 2012 Olympic Games, beach soccer and futsal
competitions and other critical programmes, activities and events.

There will also be
discussion of proposals submitted by the Members and the Executive
Committee, appointment of independent auditors and any further items
proposed by the Members or the Executive Committee of the NFF.

Heartland will name
a substantive replacement for their former coach Samson Siasia by the
end of January, the team’s General Manager Fan Nduboke has confirmed.

Siasia, who was
formerly contracted to help improve the fortunes of the Naze
Millionaires, was recently appointed as coach of the Super Eagles team,
leading to his exit from the Premier League side – less than six months
after he joined the club.

“We have received
applications from three Brazilian coaches, three Dutch, a Romanian,
three Croatians, an Egyptian as well as a Ghanaian to handle the team,”
the Heartland boss, told MTNFootball.com.

“We also have
interests from coaches in Nigeria, We hope to soon shortlist three,
(or) four of these coaches and by the end of January we will have our
man,” he added.

Currently, former
international striker, Emmanuel Osigwe, is in temporary charge of the
Owerri club following the departure of Siasia to the Super Eagles.

The Heartland boss
said that the club is shopping for a coach who can work with young
players as well as someone who can go on to market the players abroad.

“We want a coach
who has the knack to work with young players and who can open up
business angles for these players overseas. It’s not just about what he
can do on the pitch because we desire a technical partnership as well,”
he said.

“We now have two feeder teams, an Under-14 team and an Under-17 team. We want to sustain our policy of parading young players.”

This season, the
average age of Heartland is around 22 years as they rebuild after
failing to reach the semi-final of this year’s CAF Champions League, a
year after making it to the final only to be beaten by TP Mazembe of DR
Congo.

The Naze Millionaires are currently fifth on the Nigeria Premier League table with 13 points from eight matches.