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When, a year ago,
our national team was struggling to qualify for the 201O World Cup, our
late President, Musa Yar’Adua, set up a body of experts to assist the
football association in this regard.

This presidential
task force was made of experts in football administration like John
Mastoroudes the founder of Leventis United of Ibadan, one of our great
football teams of the 1980s. Former players Segun Odegbami, Austin
Okocha and Patrick Ekeji, currently Director-General of the National
Sports Commission, NSC, were also members of the task force. It was
headed by Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, of whom, I confess, I
know little. We finally qualified for the World Cup on the last
possible day.

After we were
eliminated from the World Cup in the first round, the task force
submitted its report to President Goodluck Jonathan. On July 2nd, Mr
Jonathan announced to the world that, on the recommendation of the task
force, he was disbanding the football association and suspending all
our national football teams from international tournaments for two
years. The whole world was shocked, as was Dickson Etuhu, our defensive
midfielder, when Pedro Pinto of CNN interviewed him that evening. Some
people equated the president’s decision to withdrawing from school for
two years a child for failing an exam. Others said it was like cutting
off ones head to cure a headache. Thank God, our president listened to
the pleas of our countrymen and women and rescinded the decision.

Beyond incompetent officials

No one is saying
that our football association is not corrupt or incompetent. However,
our problems could never be solved by insulating ourselves for two
years. FIFA, the world football governing body, would have gladly added
another two years, like the Confederation of African Football did when
Sani Abacha withdrew our team from the Cup of African Nations in 1996.
By the time we come back to the international scene, our football will
be worse off because, due to our low ranking, we will be grouped with
strong teams like Egypt, Ivory-Coast and Ghana for World Cup places.

Imagine how tough
that would be, considering that Tunisia almost snatched the 2010 ticket
from us, like Angola did in 2005. Did the presidential task force
consider who the coach of our national team would be during our
suspension? We would be pariah and any team which played us would be
suspended by FIFA. Which coach worth his salt will like to coach a team
that plays no competitive match for at least two years?

What about our
players who already are going in search of the golden fleece to such
lowly-ranked countries as India and Sudan? Would you blame them if they
shuttled across the border and took up nationalities of countries like
Benin or Niger? How would teams like Enyimba cope with the loss of
revenue from the Champions League? By the way, English clubs were
forced into this position when they were suspended from European
competitions as a result of the hooliganism of Liverpool supporters in
1985. Before then, English sides Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Aston
Villa had won the Champions Cup every year from 1978 to 1984, except
1983. They were recalled after more than five years on the sidelines
but didn’t win the Champions League until Manchester United did so in
1999. Is it possible that the honourable men of our task force did not
know these possible outcomes of withdrawing our teams from
international competitions? After all, we could reform our football
without pulling out of international competitions for two years. France
did it successfully after they failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup
and won the next one on home soil, before winning the European
Championship in 2000 for good measure.

No member of the
presidential task force has resigned as result of, or disavowed, their
radical recommendation, so it is safe to say that the decision was
unanimous. So, why would such honourable men mislead our president?

Somehow, I am
reminded of the day we woke up in the late 1980s to read that the great
Leventis United football club had been disbanded. No one saw it coming.
Is John Mastoroudes an impulsive man or does he just like the shock
effect? Did Segun Odegbami and Austin Okocha see it as the quickest way
to achieve their ambition of a place on the board of the football
association? The person most favoured by all the brouhaha is Patrick
Ekeji because the media are not talking about the ministerial visit to
the dilapidated National Stadium earlier in the year and the sorry
state of our National Institute for Sport and other national edifices
under him.

Ekeji’s responsibility

Patrick Ekeji,
playing for Enugu Rangers, was the by far the best right-back in
Nigeria in the late 1970s and was expected to play in that position for
us at the Cup of African Nations which we were to host in 1980. No one
accused him of a lack of patriotism when he suddenly left to better
himself by going abroad to study. It was the same Ekeji who, in 2002,
engineered the removal of the coaching crew of the national team due to
the insubordination of the players. Or was it because they were not
patriotic enough to beat Senegal in the semi-final?

If we are to
rebound like the French football team of 1998, a lot depends on the
national sport commission. The French did it by setting up a training
centre which the English and the rest of Europe are trying to emulate.
They did it by improving the standard of their coaching. The ball is in
Ekeji’s court. He should read the French blueprint. Is he up to the
task? So far Ekeji has proved to be more interested in interfering in
other people’s jobs, like that of national team coach Shuaibu Amodu’s,
than doing his. The success of our sports, not just football, depends
on you.

Eguavoen is based in Belgium.

The
2010 World cup was like beautifully scripted drama. It had its highs
and lows (remarkably large doses of them) and a suspense. It had its
heroes and villains, clowns, goons and grouches, unbelievable scenery
and even a kiss at the end of it all.

Yet nothing rests
so profoundly on the minds of football pundits everywhere like the
disappointing performances of leading names in the game. In an age
where youth and skill dominate play, the best of the crop failed to
deliver. Is this just empty ranting? Well ponder with me on this.

The big guns; Christiano Ronaldo(Cr9), Kaka, Messi, van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas,

Fernando Torres,
Frank Lampard, have a total of 2 goals between them. Is this for real?
Why is it that at the biggest stage of football, the big guns fail to
deliver? Is it a question of players being over-hyped? To be fair on
many of the players injury problems, lack of form, or media distraction
are believable excuses, but none of this will do for the biggest name
in the game today- Lionel Messi.

Blundering on Messi

In form, lethal,
skillful, fast, tricky and a great team player, Lionel Messi came to
the tournament netting over 40 goals. Though Messi played in all five
games for Argentina and had 30 shots, he failed to find the back of the
net. Now I find it hard to believe he suddenly forgot how to score.
What happened to Messi is one of the many blunders made by his national
team coach, the legendary Diego Amando Maradona. Often we see players
who do so well playing in a role for their clubs having to play
differently for their country, an experiment often criticised by soccer
fans everywhere.

Messi known for his
roving, roaming and attacking role is forced to play in the midfield
and as if his work is not hard enough, a midfield with Maxi Rodriquez
and mascherano sitting so deeply in their own half did nothing to
shield him. Against the Germans an often re-occurring feature is Messi
running into a wall of four opponents every time he gets the ball. The
poor guy even had to win the ball himself just so he could play.
Obviously keeping your biggest gun behind the attack for ‘the benefit
of the team’ was not a good idea’.

Sentiment over commonsense

A good father figure Maradona is – maybe? I don’t know and it frankly does not concern me the least.

What concerns me is
his faith in Di Maria. DI Maria who plays on the flank was unable to
create a goal scoring chance or at least a descent pullout throughout
the tournament, yet played all games. Did he miss any match? Did he
contribute much? Did he score any goal? Was he the only winger of note
in Argentina? The answers are all nos. This reeks of sentiments maybe,
maybe not.

Yet nothing nailed Maradonas coffin perhaps, like the players he excluded from his squad.

The four teams that
made it to the semi-finals paraded players like sneider, Robben,
Muller, Puyol, Xavi, Klose, Forlan,schweinstagger, amongst others.
These players played in the finals of the 2009-2010 Uefa champions
league. They are in-form and are very talented and make up the core of
their county’s team. What did Maradona do with his most in-form
players? He left Cambiasso and Zanetti at home and left Diego Milito
(yes the same Milito who scored twice in the champion’s league final
match) on the bench.

It’s a crying shame really, you have a feeling that maybe if these
players were on the pitch against Germany things might have been
different.

In
keeping up with their plans to become the biggest club in the English
Premiership, Manchester city are in the market again and this time it
is Landon Donovan that has caught their fancy.

Roberto Mancini
believes Donovan is a good player, and can make a significant impact in
their goal of reaching the top of the Premier League. Other players
Manchester city have been watching out for include Mario Balotelli of
Inter Milan and James Milner of Aston Villa.

MLS officials
however, hope that Donovan would stay put in US local league. He had
been on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy to Everton for the past year.

Donovan has been
advised by John Harkes, the first American to play in the EPL, to catch
in on his impressive showing at the World Cup and make a move to
England if he gets the chance. Donovan is the highest goal scoring
American in World Cup History. He scored the goal against Algeria that
sent them to the top of their group – the first time America ever
topped their group in the World Cup.

Donovan’s early rise to stardom

In 1997, Donovan
joined the US Youth Soccer’s Olympic Development Program. His youth
career began in 1999, with IMG Soccer Academy. He later moved to Bayer
Leverkusen in Germany. His senior career began in 2001 when he moved to
the club’s senior team, but he was on loan most of the time to San Jose
earthquakes where he played 87 games and scored 32 times. He moved to
Los Angeles Galaxy in 2005, and has since been there except for loans
in Bayern Munich and Everton In 2009 and 2010.

The forward who
could play as an attacking midfielder or a winger, started his national
career in 1999 when he played for USA in the U- 17 world Championship.
He was the winner of the Golden Ball emerging the best player of the
tournament. Since 2000, he has played for the senior national team 127
times and scored 45 times. He has played 187 games for his country and
has scored a total of 89 goals. This makes him the all time leader in
scoring and assists. He also has the most caps of all active players in
the USA.

Wardrobe full of awards

Donovan has a
number of both individual and team awards to his credit. CONCACAF Cup
has been won three times. With both LA Galaxy and San Jose Earth
quakes, he won the MLS Cup once and twice respectively. Individual
awards include being a 3-time winner of US Soccer Male Athlete of the
Year and six time winner of the Honda Player of the year. In his
career, Donovan has played a total 243 games, scoring 191 times.

Manchester City finished fifth last season, narrowly missing a Champions’ League slot.

Should Donovan be signed into the club, he would join the likes of David Silva and Yaya Toure as new recruits for the season.

Patron of the Lagos team of the moment, Rubicon, Hadi Sirika and Aliyu Wadada are good friends on and off the field of polo.

The two politicians
whose teams are making waves in the game are obviously late starters
when it comes to the high profile sport. But that is how far one can
stretch the odds against the duo who are latest additions to the
exclusive list of Nigeria’s most successful polo patrons, as a peep
into their polo record since picking the mallet few years back, would
suggest otherwise.

Last year alone,
These Katsina and Keffi born polo freaks and their rampaging teams have
picked up enough medium-goal titles in the exciting Nigerian polo tour,
to attract the attention of discerning polo buffs.

Impressive Rubicon

Since their debut,
the impressive Lagos Rubicon and Kaduna Keffi Ponies have won or
finished runners-up at all major tournaments in Lagos, Port Harcourt,
Kano, Kaduna, Jos, Yola, and Ibadan among others. And they are not done
yet.

Presently playing
off zero handicaps, Sirika who represents one of the federal
constituencies of Katsina in the immediate past House of
Representatives and Wadada say they are prepared to take their
flourishing polo careers to the very top.

“I never really
gave polo a serious thought initially, but since I started thanks to
the encouragement of some of my friends, it has been fun and I’m not in
a hurry to quit just yet,” Sirika stated recently in Kano.

Before catching the
bug of king of games, Hadi has tried all sorts of sporting recreations,
but none could give him the thrill the noble game of polo gives.

I tried a bit of tennis, golf, Squash and even snooker, but the thrill did not hold for a long time,” he added.

Though his crowded
business schedules often clashes with some of the tournaments, he
always finds time to play at major tournaments in Lagos, Kaduna, Kano,
Ibadan and in Katsina that has remain a happy home coming for the
Rubicons.

“Much as one would
love to play every tournament, time has been a major constraint. But
one event we don’t normally miss, is the Katsina International Polo
Tournament, and we are not going to miss it this year,” he pointed out.

The reasons are
quite obvious. As a Katsina born polo player, the passion and the
thrills of playing before his cheering home crowd has no comparison.

But more
importantly, this experienced pilot and his Rubicon have a date to keep
with history, as the first Lagos based team to win the prestigious
Nigerian Cup back-to-back.

“Our mission to
Katsina this year is quite simple, to successfully defend the title we
won last year and to have plenty of fun playing the game we all love
with passion,” he disclosed.

Lagos Rubicon wrote
their names in gold last year, defeating a strong field of five Katsina
tournament regulars, from Kaduna, Kano and the host, to clinch the
event’s most prestigious prize.

Wadada fervour

Wadada who led his
Keffi Ponies to their first Governor’s Cup runners-up finish in Bauchi
two weeks ago, remains the hottest polo boss of the moment to come out
of Nasarawa State.

“Polo is a great game to play. Its value added
allures far outweigh the over bloated danger associated with the noble
which in humble opinion is the safest sporting endeavour once you play
by the rules,” said Wadada whose Keffi warriors secured a double sweep
at the MTN International Polo Tournament in Katsina last year.

“This is the sport of my life. Even before I
started playing at major tournaments, I have always been part of the
family. Polo is about courage, strength, and speed, that is why players
from around the world are united by their love of the sport and the
adventurous lifestyle of the game.” As the countdown for the MTN Polo
festival billed for the ancient city of Katsina enters its final
stages, all the smart monies are staked heavily on both Lagos Rubicon
and Kaduna Keffi Ponies retain the top prizes they won here last year.

Sirika’s led Lagos
Rubicon and Ahmed Wadada’s led Kaduna Keffi Pony between them swept
four of the major prizes titles at stake in the international event,
which traditionally gallops off a new season in the Nigerian polo
calendar.

At the end of an
exciting weeklong extravaganza, Lagos Rubicon wrote their names in
gold, carting home the Nigerian Cup and Dikko Memorial Cup, to emerge
overall champions of the 2009 edition of the tournament.

Billed for the
Usman Nagogo Polo Ground in Katsina, this year’s festival, which
gallops off this weekend, promises to be a no miss event with over
thirty teams from across the country confirming their readiness to
compete for honours.

Major trophies to
be carted home by the victorious teams at the end of the tournament are
the Nigerian Cup, which is the tournament’s biggest prize, Hassan
Katsina Cup, the Talba Cup and Commassie Cup.

Other prizes include the Governor’s Cup, Muhammadu Kabir Cup, Usman
Nagogo Memorial Cup, Dikko Memorial Cup, Lawal Kaita Cup and Maidabino
Cup.

In the past five
editions of the FIFA U-20 female championship, Nigeria’s national team
has qualified for the quarter finals, but on all those occasions they
have fallen to either luck or naivety.

This is the same
situation the team finds itself presently with today’s quarter final
match against the United States of America.

The first scary
statistic is Nigeria has never beaten USA in women’s football. No
matter the competition, the knock-out stages are always too close to
call, and this one should not be any different.

Eucharia Uche,
coach of the senior women’s team, the Super Falcons, is prayerful for
the team to go beyond the quarter final hurdle.

“The USA will be
very tough and we had never beaten them at any level; it will be very
tough. If the girls can take their chances and not be over-awed with
the Americans’ reputation, then anything can happen. You know that the
higher you go in any of these international competitions, the tougher
it always becomes, so they do not need to relax,” she said.

Not relaxing should
be the catch-phrase amongst the players, as seen in their match against
Mexico on Wednesday; they were always putting pressure on the opponents
but they got tired in the later stages, which gave the Mexicans enough
latitude to operate and get the goal that shot them to the top of the
group.

Uche added that,
“They should put in more effort to get to the semi-final and at least
get a medal. We have so far not been able to cross this hurdle of the
quarter-finals, but I think we have a very good chance with this set of
girls and they should grab the chance to make a name for themselves and
the country.”

USA again topped
their qualifying group by beating Korea Republic with a goal from
Sydney Leroux. The Americans will fancy their chances against a Nigeria
side that has never beaten them. They also boast a remarkable record in
the competition – 20 wins in 24 matches, with only two defeats.

The reigning
champions were given a boost when South Korea left out their five-goal
marksman, Ji So-Yun, and also influential midfielder, Kim Na-Rae. These
changes were made by coach Choi In Cheul in order to rest his most
impressive talents. Whether that will have been a good tactic will be
witnessed when they face Mexico on Sunday in Dresden.

The Americans, led by Leroux, are said to be cocky but their record
at this level is intimidating. Leroux said on fifa.com, “We don’t want
to make a big thing of the past because this is a new team. We are out
to win a World Cup – not defend one.”

The 2010 World Cup
has come and gone but the repercussions of a bad outing for the
national team continues to reverberate through the fabric of the game.

With the transfer
window wide open, the best we have seen in terms of the movement of our
players is Obafemi Martins’ transfer to Rubin Kazan. While Kazan are
Russian league champions, they are paperweights in Europe with their
biggest achievement being a 1-0 defeat of Barcelona at the Nou Camp.

With league season
reason in the next two to three weeks in Europe, Nigerian players are
in the transfer lurch. Compared to other great African football
countries, Nigeria’s stock is about the lowest but that was not always
the case. Today, our sister country, Ghana, has her football stars are
getting better deals. With the way things are going we may not have to
wait long before lowly rated football countries like Benin Republic
starts having players in bigger clubs than our players.

Journey to the bottom

After every World
Cup since 1994, Super Eagles players always attracted the attention of
European suitors. One that readily comes to mind is the multi-million
dollar deal that Austin Okocha snagged even when the Eagles were
decimated by Denmark 4-1 in the second round of the 2002 World Cup in
France. His virtuoso display at that tournament earned him a $24
million deal with French club, Paris Saint Germain (PSG) making him the
most expensive African footballer at the time.

Garba Lawal fondly
called “Mr. Consistency” in his time in the Super Eagles was another
player whose value rose in 1998 following an impressive performance at
the 1998 World Cup against Spain in Nigeria’s opening match of the
tournament. He spoke to NEXT on the dip in the value Nigerian football
players globally and what should be done to address the situation.

“They are not
playing well and there is nothing anybody can do about that,” Lawal
said “Look at their performance at the World Cup; it is nothing to
write home about so you won’t expect any serious team to go after them.
They are the ones that want to make name and money for themselves so
they have to improve their game to achieve the best. As a player, you
don’t have all the time in the world to yourself but when the
opportunity of playing in the World Cup comes your way, you have to
grab it with your two hands but most of them failed to do that.” Lawal
then lays the blame squarely on the players’ shoulders. “No matter what
we say, they are the actors and they are the only ones that can
determine when their stock will appreciate or go down depending on the
performance they put in.”

List of transfers

The best news of the summer could yet be Vincent Enyeama’s proposed move to Portuguese giants, FC Porto.

According to
reports in Israel, Enyeama’s club, Hapoel Tel Aviv, received a
€1-million offer for the Nigerian goalkeeper, who has a just year to
run on his contract. The other good news; and some people could argue
this, could be the retention of Yakubu Ayegbeni at Everton after the
club turned down a bid of £6million, plus £1million if they avoid
relegation, for striker Yakubu. Everton boss David Moyes has insisted
that the burly striker will not be let go for any amount less than the
£11 million they paid Middlesbrough.

On the back of an
average showing in South Africa, Lukman Haruna has been touted to be on
Inter Milan’s radar, but that surely will not be a good move as he is
most likely to be frozen on the substitutes’ bench. He will be better
advised to stay put at Monaco of France and continue his improvement
curve. Haruna caught the eye of Inter chief Marco Branca during the
World Cup campaign and they have moved quickly to slap in an early bid
for the 20 year-old.

Olubayo Adefemi is
leaving relegated French side Boulogne and moving to Greece side, Skoda
Xanthi, for the 2010/2011 football season. Another of Nigeria’s former
promising star, Stephen Makinwa, has also recently moved to the
backwaters of the Greece League to join Larissa on loan from Lazio. The
26-year-old met has stagnated in his career and that could also stop as
it has been released that he is suffering from a serious knee injury
that could stop him playing football.

Joseph Yobo’s
defensive team mate at Everton, Phil Jagielka, is reportedly the target
of an improved bid of £18 million from Arsenal, but Yobo is a target
for newly promoted Newcastle. Bolton Wanderers defender Danny Shittu
could yet stay in the English Premiership, but the offer is from a
lowly Blackpool side that also just gained promotion to the top flight
after 40 years in the wilderness. Bolton’s boss, Owen Coyle, has told
the 29-year-old that he is surplus to requirement at the Reebok
Stadium, so a move to Blackpool may be appealing.

Another very
promising player, Christian Obodo, a pretender to the Austin Okocha
throne may have to move to Cesena to get games after being eclipsed by
Ghanaian Kwadwo Asamoah, who shone very brightly at the just concluded
World Cup. He will be teaming up with the captain of the U-20 national
team to Egypt 2009, Odion Ighalo. Ighalo is also on loan deal from
Udinese.

The captain of the silver winning squad to the Beijing Olympics,
Obinna Nsofor is being courted by Stoke City, who is neither in the
Champions League or the Europa Cup. We will like to ask Nsofor what the
allure is in asking for a move to Stoke City other than financial
gains. The £4 million-rated striker is also wanted by cashed-up Greek
duo AEK Athens and PAOK, which are both ready to bid immediately for
the Nigeria international; that is the level that our players have
fallen to.

On Thursday, Nigeria honoured her citizens, who in the estimation of President Goodluck Jonathan were deserving of it.

From the list, it
is clear that President Jonathan does not think highly of the sports
establishment because not one athlete or administrator made the cut.

Given recent
developments in our sports sector, it may be tempting to agree with our
president. However, that would be utterly misleading and a denial of
the contribution of our sportsmen and women to the burnishing of our
national image sullied by the criminality and incompetence of some of
the individuals that have been honoured by President Jonathan in this
latest act of national recognition.

Despite the
malfeasance that has characterised football administration in Nigeria
in the last one and half decades as well as the sheer mercantilist
inclination of some of our sportsmen, there have been flashes of
brilliance from the sports sector.

Therefore, when as
many as 186 Nigerians are honoured for their contributions to national
development and there is not one sportsman or administrator among them,
there is something wrong somewhere.

Missing the point

It means that
President Goodluck Jonathan has not been properly advised. I have often
said and will repeat it even at the point of sounding like a broken
record that in the last twenty years, Nigerian sportsmen have done more
to polish our darkened national reputation than the entire crop of
politicians and businessmen who have found their way into the list in
the intervening period.

We recall that at
the moment of our ostracism in 1996 by the international community
following the indiscretion of the Sani Abacha government, it fell on
our youngsters, Chioma Ajunwa and our U-23 men’s football team, to
restore national pride and international confidence following their
spectacular performance at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.

Two years before,
the Super Eagles had won the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time
and went on to put on display at the World Cup in the United States a
few months later, the prodigious talent of Nigerian footballers.

These displays by
our sportsmen helped to focus international attention on other positive
vibrations emanating from Nigeria. They served to correct the erroneous
impression that Nigerians were only adept at defrauding foreigners via
advance fee fraud (419) in addition to having a bad government.

The youngsters who
accomplished those feats are still alive. While some of them have gone
on to accomplish great things in their careers and others have faded
into oblivion, memories of their efforts linger.

In 2000 at the
Sydney Olympics, sprinter Enefiok Udo-Obong anchoring Nigeria’s 4×400
metres team in the final race ran with the speed of a dynamo to win
Nigeria a silver medal, which later became gold after it emerged that
at least two members of the American team that won the race had done so
under the influence of performance enhancing drugs.

By contrast, many
of the men and women honoured on Thursday have brought nothing but
dishonour to our national image through acts of omission and
commission. From those who have tried to pilfer public funds but were
stopped dead in their tracks by watchful colleagues and an inquisitive
media to those who attained the highest reaches of power through the
unlawful overthrow of lawfully constituted governments, we have a
collection of individuals who deserve nothing but censure.

If President
Jonathan has decided to honour them, what about members of our Super
Falcons who despite the shoddy treatment repeatedly meted out to them
by successive administrations of the Nigeria Football Association still
managed to win laurels for this nation at international football
competitions.

Does Patricia
Etteh, one of the recipients of this year’s award measure up
internationally with Perpetua Nkwocha, winner of the African footballer
on the Year award on three occasions or Mercy Akide-Udoh, a former
winner of the award who was in 2005 named one of FIFA’s women’s
football ambassadors?

Encouraging initiatives

If qualification
for the award depended on age, perhaps the answer would be yes but then
as we know (at least I hope that is the case) qualifying for national
honours entails far more than belonging to the ruling party in the
country. It involves spending oneself sometimes even under the most
debilitating conditions, to ensure that Nigeria works or that
internationally it has a positive image. On this score, many in
President Jonathan’s present list fall short.

Currently, there is
a young Nigerian who is contributing to sports but going by our
peculiar way of doing things may not even get a pat on the back let
alone hope to be honoured someday.

Yomi Kuku is
passionate about getting sports in Nigeria working again. A journalist,
he got tired of writing about the ills in Nigerian sports and decided
to do something about it. Today he runs Search and Groom, a
Non-Governmental Organisation dedicated to giving young footballers at
the grassroots opportunity to express themselves.

For the past four
years without support from the Nigerian government, he has been leading
young Nigerians to the Homeless World Cup. Only recently, during the
2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, he led the Nigerian contingent to
the Football for Festival organised by FIFA. Nigeria finished runner-up
to Kenya.

While in South
Africa, they were treated like outcasts by Nigerian football
authorities despite the fact FIFA Secretary General had written to the
leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation to offer them financial
and logistics support.

Nigerians like Kuku
deserve a pat on the back. Encouraging them would spur other Nigerians
into exploring ways of contributing to national development instead of
waiting on government for initiative all the time.

Oosthuizen
was born Lodewicus Theodorus Oosthuizen 1982, October 19, in Mossel
Bay, 34 miles east of Cape Town, South Africa. He comes from a family
that tends a farm back in South Africa.

The family also is
a strong Tennis family, with his brother and father playing Tennis up
to the provincial level but Louis opted for golf instead. He grew up
with Charl Schwartzel and together they won the World Junior Team
Championship in 2000. He also won the Irish Amateur Open Championship
and was a member of the South African team.

Oosthuizen got his
big break in 1999 at the age of 17. He was given membership to the
Ernie Els foundation. Els is the current World No. 6 in golf and a
three time Major winner. The foundation was established to help
identify and develop budding young talents in golf.

Oosthuizen was part
of the foundation for three years. His respect for Ernie Els grew, with
Els always coming to spend time with the boys in the foundation. Els
also ultimately became his mentor.

Turning dream into
reality Oosthuizen turned pro in 2002, but did not join the European
tour until 2004. He won for the first time in 2004 in South Africa
Vodacom Origin of Golf Tour. Other games he has won include the 2007
Dimension Data, and the Telkom PGA Tour.

On the European
scene however, Oosthuizen struggled for the first five years. It was
not until 2009, that he was able to finish Runner Up in the Abu Dhabi
and Qatar Masters. His March 2010 win in the Open de Andalucia coupled
with his runner up finish at Morocco were important because they got
him into a different level in the world of golf. He was now in the top
50 of world rankings, not only was he eligible to play at the Masters,
he could also play at the US Open and Open Championship.

Oosthuizen’s play
is characterized by technical soundness – the straightest drives, the
purest putter, and the best ball striker – and an unshakeable
disposition. He retains his cool under intense pressure. His caddie of
seven years, Zack Rasego has described the relationship he has with his
boss as a very special one. He describes him as down to earth, simple
man who looks at him (Rasego) as a person.

He has been nick
named by other golfers; Shrek, thanks to the gap in is teeth. He even
used to carry a Shrek head cover on his bag but his cabbie has since
removed it. Rasego believes it was bringing him bad luck.

The 27-year-old
brought the field to its knees with an assured display of ball-striking
and control to become the sixth South African major winner, and the
first at the Open since Ernie Els in 2002.

Oosthuizen’s laid back attitude

He then took the
opportunity to give South African legend, Nelson Mandela, birthday
wishes. “I would like to take this opportunity to say happy birthday to
Nelson Mandela back in South Africa.

It seems Oosthuizen
wants to continue with tending farms. No flashy sport cars have been
bought but a John Deere tractor has been purchased for the farm. He
celebrated this maiden major win in style and made his first purchase
with his £850,000 winnings – a custom-made tractor.

He intends to put a
seat for his seven month old daughter, Jana, so that she could follow
him when he works. Oosthuizen is married to Nel-Mare and they have just
that one daughter. His other interests include hunting and watching
movies. He owns a house in Manchester.

Oosthuizen also
said, “We’re going to have a lot of fun. I bought the tractor for my
farm. Being a farm boy it was one of my big dreams.” Oosthuizen, who
had missed the cut in all his three previous Opens and was a 200-1
outsider to win at St. Andrews, he then sank a short par putt at the
18th, took off his cap to acknowledge the thunderous applause from the
crowd that lined the revered fairways, hugged his caddie before
embracing his wife Nel-Mare and young daughter Jana.

He finished seven strokes clear of the closest rival, Lee Westwood. Oosthuizen is the 150th winner of the Open Championship.

While many
Nigerians only remember South Africa 2010 for the heartache caused by
the Super Eagles at the first World Cup on African soil, little did
they know that a set of young Nigerians were, at about the same time,
doing the country proud in the Football for Hope festival competition;
a tournament organised by FIFA as part of the activities for the
Mundial.

During the final
week of the World Cup, 32 teams representing the countries that
participated in the tournament converged on Alexandra in Johannesburg
for a very different football festival. Nigeria was represented by
Search and Groom organisation.

The festival
showcased and promoted best practice in the field of development
through the game of football. The teams, made up of boys and girls aged
between 15 and 18, represented local organisations and countries that
used football for positive social change in the areas of
anti-discrimination and social integration, children’s rights and
education, health promotion, peace-building and environment.

Team’s wish

Interestingly,
among the 32 teams on parade, Nigeria finished second on the log after
losing to Kenya in a pulsating final match which went on to be decided
by penalty shoot outs after both teams played out 0-0.

This second spot finish helped clear the shame the woeful performance the Eagles had earlier brought the country.

Sadly, however, the
youngsters that represented the country so well in South Africa have
not yet been accorded any form of recognition let alone reward. Only a
private citizen, Remi Ogunpitan, has recognised their effort by hosting
them upon their return from South Africa.

“We players
contributed amongst ourselves to buy the boots we used to play in the
competition” Afolabi Michael a key member of team said on arrival from
Johannesburg.

Afolabi, one of the
biggest revelations of the tournament with thirteen goals to his
credit, is currently out of school but hopes to be back if given the
needed support. Though he is hoping to get a chance meeting with the
authorities concerned, representing the country so well in a foreign
land was on its own a moment of joy for him.

“I was happy to fly
the flag of the country so high in South Africa. I, however, want to
appeal to the minister of sports, the President and to my governor,
Segun Oni, to assist my education.

“My experience in South Africa has really made me to want to return to school” he said.

The team, captained
by 15-year-old Suliat Yusuf (F), an SS 2 student of Hopebay College,
Alaba, included Akinwande Kehinde (F), Olatunbosun Kehinde (F), Ezeala
Nkem (F), Aderemi Ebenezer (M), Egege Emmanuel (M) and Uzoka Amaechi
(M).

The team, which was
left to run from pillar to post in order to participate in the
tournament, was only assisted by few individuals while FIFA paid for
its team’s tickets when it became clear that they would not make it to
the tournament without help.

“We sent several
letters to corporate companies and the likes for over one year and we
were not able to raise a dime from them but we just had to push harder
and make the sacrifices because it had to do with future of some young
Nigerians who had been given the honour to represent their fatherland,”
Yomi Kuku the director of Search and Groom explained.

Little support

Some of the
individuals that rendered some sort of assistance include Sanya
Ehinmidu, a Nigerian based in Pretoria, South Africa, who donated money
to support the team’s efforts. Modupe Ariyo, who is based in the United
Kingdom, also supported the team. Deroju Ademoroti Chief Executive
officer of AstroTurf 2000, and others also contributed to the team’s
preparation for the tourney.

While commending
the efforts of the individuals at helping them participate in the
tournament, Suliat is hoping that government will look in their
direction and pat them on the back:

“We hope to
present our medals to the minister of sports who we believe has a good
agenda for the development of sports from the grassroots and also wish
that we can get the needed support for our education and family,” she
said.

Commenting on the
cold shoulder given the team, Bayo-Olowo Ake, a board member of Search
and Groom, said the country rarely pays attention to the development of
talents.

“Unless we start paying attention to genuine grassroots development we might just continue to move in circles,” he said.

“Of a truth, the Nigeria Football Federation is not supposed to be
saddled solely with talent development but it is expected to provide an
enabling environment for talents to emerge by supporting projects like
this and other academies around the country.”