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As many as fifty
professional golfers from across the country are expected to take part
in the fast approaching Nigeria Cup 2010 National Day Golf Tournament.

The tournament
which is now in its 14th year at the Ikoyi Club, Lagos, following its
inaugural edition back in 1997, is part of activities by the club to
commemorate Nigeria’s national day, and this year’s edition will see
some of the country’s top golfers competing alongside their amateur
counterparts for honours.

Frank Gboneme the
vice captain of the host club’s golf section disclosed this in Lagos on
Tuesday at a press briefing to herald this year’s tournament. Gboneme
also revealed the other programmes lined up by the event’s organisers
to mark Nigeria’s golden jubilee anniversary.

The qualifiers for
the Nigeria Cup took place last on Saturday at the Ikoyi Club but the
main draw doesn’t take place until September 28 when the professional
players will vie for the two million cash prize that is up for grabs
with their amateur counterparts in the Pro-Am tournament.

This event will
however be preceded by a golf tournament for children, as well as a
children’s creative class on September 25 and 26. The latter is in
conjunction with the African Art Resource Centre which will be
providing over 20 renowned artists to tutor the children.

A day later, on the September 27, the caddies will take to the course, while the ladies will have their turn on September 30.

Four-Club competition

On October 1, an
innovative event, tagged the Four-Club competition, will be held at the
venue. It will allow each competitor take to the golf course – not with
their complete range of golf clubs, but with their favourite four clubs.

“In a normal
tournament, a golfer can take to the course with as much as 14 clubs
but this competition will see the golfers limiting themselves to just
four clubs,” Gboneme said. “So it becomes tricky at some stage.”

The Four-Club
competition won’t be the only event planned for Nigeria’s national day
as there will also be a cultural night with fireworks to precede the
Gentleman’s Final which comes up the following day.

Gboneme also used Tuesday’s press briefing to thank the various
corporate bodies that have contributed to the success story of the
Nigeria Cup National Day Golf Tournament. They include UBA, Diamond
Bank, Oando Petroleum and Nigeria Breweries, makers of Heineken in
Nigeria.

Today, a lot of
teams with history on their side will be trying to take new strides in
the 2010 version of the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid, with a new
coach and lots of young players will resume a quest for a 10th title.
Five-time champions Bayern Munich, who fell at the last hurdle in the
2009 finals will be hoping to better their last performance. Ajax come
into their match against the Bavarians with their own share of European
glory combined with the deadly aim of Luis Suarez and are gunning for a
fifth title. The Uruguayan striker has scored nine goals in the last 11
matches.

The elusive 10th title

Real Madrid had
great expectations last season when the final match was scheduled for
the Santiago Bernebeu – what a way to actualise a tenth title than in
your home stadium before adoring fans…

But it remained a
mirage as the European giants were sent packing in the 2nd round by
French club, Olympique Lyon. That made it the fifth year consecutively
that Madrid had not made it beyond the round of 16.

Enter Jose Mourinho
– the self styled ‘Special One’. After winning the competition with
Inter Milan, the Portuguese tactician’s main brief is to win the
Champions League; as well as the small matter of dethroning Barcelona
as Spain’s best team.

“This is the
competition of competitions,” he said on UEFA.com. “Not only the most
important but the grandest competition in football. Only a few coaches
have won it with two different clubs, so my great ambition is to become
the first to do so with three different clubs.” Though Mourinho is
known for his ability to build winning sides, whether he will achieve
that in his first year at Madrid is another mather. He will start the
campaign against four-time winners, Ajax. The Dutch coach of the
Amsterdamers, Martin Jol also spoke to UEFA.com on the history and the
will to replicate the past.

“At Ajax, the first
thing they do is invite you to the museum to see all of the cups; there
aren’t many clubs with more trophies,” Jol said, but the last time they
won was 16 years ago with the Nigerian duo of Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi
George.

“We won our last
UEFA Champions League in 1995 and it’s probably impossible to win it
again. But because of our history, it’s very important to us. The home
games are already sold out, which shows what it means to our fans.
Hopefully we can bring the old times back”.

Chelsea in need of relevance

Carlo Ancelotti has
been telling anyone who cares to hear that Chelsea’s benefactor, Roman
Abramovitch has not put the team under undue pressure to win a first
Champions League trophy. But last season’s loss to Inter Milan in the
quarter-finals under Jose Mourinho must have hurt a bit. There is also
the added incentive of playing the finals in England, which could help
or mar the club.

“For Chelsea,
winning the UEFA Champions League is as important as winning the
Premier League. Last season, we won domestically and it would be nice
to be crowned European champions in London,” Ancelotti said on uefa.com.

Club stalwarts like
John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba will want to ride into the
sunset of their careers basking in the knowledge of helping the club to
the highest club honour ever. Terry will still be having nightmares of
the penalty loss to Manchester United in the 2008 finals; maybe he will
have the chance to remedy that history come May 2011.

Milan needs to find right combination

No club in Europe or the world can currently boast of the forwards that AC Milan possess.

Zlatan Ibrahimović
and Robinho have joined Ronaldinho, Pato and Fillipo Inzaghi. The
challenge is how to place these parts to make an effective unit. The
2-0 loss to Cesena at the weekend showed obvious frailties and European
matches can be very cruel in exposing these flaws.

Newly installed
coach, Massimiliano Allegri is not oblivious to the enormity of the
task before him. It will be a battle for the Rossoneri to progress from
a group that has other European heavyweights but younger squads.

“These are
fascinating matches,” the former Cagliari Calcio coach told UEFA.com.
“Such ties immediately give you the right focus for the UEFA Champions
League. It’s my third year in Serie A and to coach Milan in this
prestigious competition is fantastic.”

Arsene Wenger confident of his side

Maybe, just maybe,
Arsenal are about ready to win a maiden European Cup. Manager Arsene
Wenger, who has spent four years at the club, believes that these set
of players have both the experience and the youth needed to win the
only trophy missing in Wenger’s collection.

Wenger believes his side are stronger and better equipped to overcome mental hurdles.

“We have to show
that last year was an accident. Unfortunately we went out against
Barcelona who were better than us over two legs.

“We have to come back and show we can compete with them. Overall I think it was an accident but we will see.”

On the added
incentive of the final being played at Wembley, Wenger said, “It is
only six miles, but unfortunately it is a long way,” Wenger concluded.

Arsenal’s
Portuguese opponents SC Braga are also known as Minho’s Arsenalistas
after the Portuguese club took Arsenal’s colours in 1921. And Nigerian
left-back, Uwa Echiejile is expected to make an appearance for the team
against the Gunners.

Abou Diaby has an
ankle problem suffered in last weekend’s league win over Bolton while
Thomas Vermaelen has been ruled out with an Achilles injury. They join
Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Nicklas Bendtner and Aaron Ramsey, all
ruled out with various injuries.

UEFA largesse

There is a cash
bonanza for teams that have qualified for the UEFA Champions League
group stage this season as they will receive about €7.2m according to
the revenue distribution system in place for the 2010/11 campaign.

Each of the 32
clubs taking part in the UEFA Champions League group stage will receive
a participation bonus of €3.9m, plus a match bonus of €550,000 per
group game played. On top of that, the following performance bonuses
will be paid: €800,000 for every win, and €400,000 for every draw in
the group stage.

There will be
additional payments made to the teams that progress in the competition
with €3m the reward for advancing to the round of 16, €3.3m for
reaching the quarter-finals and €4.2m for a semi-final place. The
winners of the final at Wembley Stadium on 28 May will collect a
further €9m, with €5.6m going to the runners-up.

The teams are also
entitled to a share of the commercial value of their domestic
television market, the number of UEFA Champions League matches they
play this season and their final position in the domestic league table
last term. They will also keep their UEFA Champions League gate
receipts.

Each of the 20 teams that contested the play-offs received €2.1m.

How does anyone explain the shame experienced by millions of
sports loving Nigerians between Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th 2010?

Samuel Peter was given a battering I am sure, he never expected.
Samson Siasia’s Heartland football team was kicked out of the CAF Champions
league by Ahly of Egypt and Congo DR made sure that our U-17 men – oh, so
sorry, boys – will not be in Rwanda in 2011.

The implications are varied and several. For instance, while
Wladimir Klitschko, his trainers and fans are basking in the euphoria of a well
deserved victory, what we are experiencing here in Nigeria is a horrible
nightmare.

While there is celebration in Egypt, the opposite is happening
here in Nigeria, especially amongst those, who are either mischievously or
ignorantly advocating for the installation of Siasia as the Super Eagles’
technical adviser or coach.

As regards the U-17 football match, I am absolutely unperturbed.
As long as we refuse to establish a culture of excellent football development –
with integrity, as the foundation, the systemic evolution of genuine age-grade
footballers, will never be actualised in this massively blessed nation, endowed
with the potentials to rule the world of football. It is as simple but as
serious as that.

Add the above to the disgraceful situation our football
administrators have put us in the global setting and then ask why this should
be happening.

Various perspectives

Remember the case of three blind men who were told that an
elephant has been killed? They requested to be given an opportunity to touch
the dead elephant, in order to ascertain the veracity of the story. Their
request was granted. The first man touched the ear of the elephant and said it felt
so smooth like the cocoa yam leaf. The second touched one of the legs and said
it was like the mahogany tree, while the third touch the elephant’s tusk and
exclaimed that it was an iron. Check our newspapers, listen to the radio, watch
the TV, and you will be amazed at the various perspectives from which current
football issues are being discussed.

One angle that is of paramount interest to me is the issue of
divine intervention and the call on Nigerians to pray. I agree absolutely. I am
however aware of the sensitive nature of my position and approach to the
quagmire in which our football has been enmeshed, but make bold to declare
unreservedly, that this is the “drawing board” we must return to, in order to
have God-fearing people manage and administer football in this nation.

Courage is often something which others recognise rather than
behaviour that anyone ever deliberately sets out to display. I am also aware of
the fact that an idea, such as this issue of restitution, has to go through
three clear stages: the stages of it being ridiculed, aggressively opposed and
of course being finally accepted as self-evident.

The power of prayers Restitution, we are made to believe is the
act of, returning something to its rightful owner, or compensation for a loss,
damage or injury, or the return of something to the condition it was in before
it was changed.

Let me remind fellow Nigerians of the price paid by some God-fearing South
Africans between the years 2000 and 2002. I was not told. I participated in it
and was officially mandated to organise such programmes here in Nigeria, in
order to stand in the gap for our South African brethren. What was the price?

Thousands of football administrators, stake holders, footballers,
supporters/friends of football, would gather at various stadiums all around
South Africa, to confess the atrocities going on in South African sports,
especially football. Not only that, they set some days aside during which all
they did was to fast and pray to God for forgiveness. Did it work? Yes. The
2010 FIFA World Cup finals is a testimony. Can we pay the price to bring about
the desired changes Nigerians are clamouring for? Yes, we can!

The good news however is that whether we are ready or not the One who
created sports for His own pleasure, is already at work. Nigeria is blessed
with people, who pursue their dreams, regardless of the threats, dangers and
what is said or thought; and people, who have made sacrifices and displayed
incredible persistence – in short, people who are M.A.D. (making a difference).

One of such is our own Olajide Fashiku. Happy birthday, Jide. As you
celebrate today, we pray that your ideas to ensure that sports returns to its
rightful place in Nigeria do not run dry. Your efforts and sacrifice will not
be in vain. FIFA, CAF and the NFA may not recognise you, but on behalf of
millions of sports loving Nigerians, we say thank you. It will be well with
you. We love you Baba JID.

As I learned of
France’s home defeat against Belarus, I wondered if this was the lowest
ever point for French football, and more importantly, how are they
going to turn their fortunes around?

The loss was Les
Bleus’ fourth in a row and there seems to be no light at the end of the
tunnel for a team that lacks confidence, personality and experience. I
was in South Africa when France’s players decided to strike in protest
of the French Football Federation’s (FFF) decision to send Nicolas
Anelka home following an altercation with Raymond Domenech. I couldn’t
believe that professional athletes would actually refuse to work during
a tournament which should represent one of the highlights of their
careers. It would have to take a lot of anger and frustration for a
group of players to take such a decision. Some of those feelings are
surely still present now in the French squad even if some World Cup
squad members are no longer part of the national team set-up.

Healing the wounds

So how is Laurent
Blanc going to heal these wounds and create the team spirit and unity
necessary to get results? Well to be fair, he already tried a bold
motivational approach, inviting his friend and fellow 1998 World Cup
champion Zinedine Zidane to a training session in a bid to inspire the
squad. He also handed out sheets of paper containing the words to La
Marseillaise to players, encouraging them to sing the national anthem
before the game. I guess the Belarus result showed both of those
tactics didn’t work and it will take a lot more work on the training
pitch and in the dressing room to raise the morale of these players. We
should also remember this is a very young team that doesn’t really have
many role models on the pitch. There is not a Zidane, a (Patrick)
Vieira or a (Didier) Deschamps, who can lead by example. Still, it’s my
belief that this team will improve quickly under the guidance of Blanc
and qualify for Euro 2012. The talent is there with young players such
as Lamine Sakho, Yoann Gourcuff and Karim Benzema and the spirit will
eventually return.

Of course France is not the only national team with an identity
crisis. Italy is clearly in a transitional period with a new coach and
new set of players. They struggled to beat Estonia and will also take a
while to gel with Cesare Prandelli and without the leadership skills of
the retired Fabio Cannavaro and injured Gigi Buffon. Last but not
least, I have to admit that I am very worried about my beloved
Portugal. With coach Carlos Queiroz suspended for six months by the
national football federation for his role in disrupting an anti-doping
test, and with Cristiano Ronaldo injured, they could struggle to make
the European Championship.

The players looked lost, especially in
defence, during a 4-4 draw with Cyprus on Friday. There was no
leadership, no direction, no clear game plan. By the time Queiroz comes
back, the qualifying campaign could be in tatters. As with any identity
crisis, each of the three sides need some urgent self-analysis and
rehabilitation, if they are to regain the team psyche that saw each
side compete for top honours in recent times.