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FIFA General Secretary, Jerome Valcke, disclosed that the
world’s football body never considered moving the 2010 World Cup which starts
in about 30 days, from South Africa. He made this statement at the Global Media
Face Off of the 2010 INDABA held on Sunday morning at the Moses Mabhida
Stadium, Durban.

“There was never, ever a single time that FIFA thought of moving
the event from South Africa. There was never a Plan B. We never, ever thought
of it. There have been no discussions in FIFA about that except other countries
have a Plan B”. “Not for safety and security reasons, not for infrastructure or
capability reasons and not for technical reasons,” added the FIFA scribe.

On lessons FIFA has learnt from Africa’s first World Cup, Valcke
said, “FIFA had learned a number of valuable lessons from the first African
World Cup. One of the most important of these was around ticketing mechanisms
and systems in South Africa specifically and in developing economies generally.

“The reality is that many South Africans do not have access to
the technology we used for ticket sales. This has been a valuable lesson which
we will apply when Brazil hosts the World Cup in 2014.” Also responding to
questions at the meeting, Chairman, Local Organising Committee of the World
Cup, Danny Jordaan, said every South African had been carried along in the
build up to the event. He noted that, “Everyone feels a sense of pride.”

He also added that preparations for the World Cup have impacted
on every sector of the South African economy. “There is an increase in the
number of women in construction; the country continues to be a construction
site.” He also noted that telecoms, marketing and tourism sectors have also
been involved and impacted. “It is about job creation, about building a better
society”, Jordaan added.

Speaking in the same vein, Thandiwe January-McLean, chief
executive officer, South Africa Tourism (SAT), said that apart from big
companies, small entrepreneurs will also benefit from the World Cup. She noted
that SAT has continued to create excitement around the world about the fiesta.
Sports tourism, January-McLean, added, will continue to grow.

The magical trimming of the Super Eagles squad has been done and
the provisional squad list for the upcoming FIFA World Cup is finally out.

Forty four players had earlier been pencilled down by Super
Eagles handler Lars Lagerback from which he planned to select his team for
South Africa 2010. But weeks after unveiling that initial list, the Nigeria
Football Federation (NFF) have been unable to arrange a friendly match for the
Super Eagles to make the job of selecting the final squad for the World Cup
much easier for the Swede.

The shortcomings on the part of the NFF hasn’t however deterred
Lagerback from carrying on with the job of preparing the Super Eagles for the
World Cup, as his provisional list for the tournament was made public last
night, which was also the deadline for participating countries to submit their
provisional squad list for the tourney which gets underway on June 11.

No surprises

However, there were a few surprises. The only major surprise was
the exclusion of Seyi Olofinjana, who has been a regular fixture in the
national team for over eight years. He was not included in the list probably
due to his inability to secure a first team shirt at relegated English Premier
League side Hull City, particularly in the second half of the season. The
former Stoke City mid fielder made only 19 appearances in all competitions for
the Tigers.

However, Danny Shittu, who didn’t get to make a single
appearance all through the season for another English Premier League side,
Bolton Wanderers, and Elderson Echiejile, who only made a single appearance for
French side, Rennes, were named in the provisional squad list along with Rabiu
Afolabi who is staging a return to the Super Eagles on the back of an
impressive season with Austrian club side SV Salzburg.

Dele Adeleye, who was dropped from the team to the last African
Cup of Nations in Angola, was also included along with Portsmouth’s John Utaka
who will be fighting for a World Cup shirt along with his younger brother Peter
who has found the back of the net 28 times this season for Danish side OB
Odense.

Olubayo Adefemi, whose season with relegated French Ligue 1 side
was hampered by injuries was dropped from the list, as well as Groningen of
Holland’s Femi Ajilore, and Club Brugge of Belgium’s Joseph Akpala, who grabbed
10 goals in 42 appearances for the former Belgian champions.

Usual suspects

Most of the Nigerian-based players in the initial 44-man list
were also dropped except for Terna Suswan of Lobi Stars and Bayelsa United’s
Bassey Akpan, a goalkeeper who will now fight for the three available goal
keeping slots with ‘usual suspects’ Vincent Enyeama, Dele Aiyenugba and Austin
Ejide.

Ikechukwu Uche, and his elder brother Kalu, were included in the provisional
list as well as the France based duo of Haruna Lukman, who has had a
breakthrough season with Monaco, and former Flying Eagles star Brown Ideye of
Sochaux.

Nigeria’s sole
representatives in the lucrative CAF Champions League, Heartland FC,
have qualified for the group phase of the competition after it defeated
its opponent, Super Sports United of South Africa by 3-1.

Goals from Emeka
Nwanna, John Owoeri and Bello Kofo Amata ensured a safe landing for the
Naze Millionaires as they now await the draws for the group phase of
the competition billed to take place this Thursday in Cairo.

Heartland had
earlier played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg encounter played a
fortnight ago and would now advance on a 4-2 aggregate.

The team has
experienced a difficult season with players complaining of owed
allowances and bonuses, and is currently placed eleventh in the Nigeria
Premier League table, with two outstanding matches.

Other Qualifiers

Esperance, Dynamos and Entente Setif, also booked places in the group stages of the 2010 African Champions League on Saturday.

Leading 3-0 from
the home leg, Tunisian giants, Esperance, secured a 1-1 draw against
Sudanese side Al Merreikh to claim a 4-1 aggregate win.

In another
encounter, Algerian side, Entente Setif, squeezed past Zambia side,
Zanaco, after a 2-2 draw on Saturday to give them a 3-2 aggregate win
and their first-ever place in the group stages of the competition.

Zimbabwean side,
Dynamos, also moved on after playing out a 0-0 draw against Botswana
outfit Gaborone United. Dynamos went into the second leg of their third
round tie with a 4-1 lead from the home fixture a fortnight ago and
therefore progress with a 4-1 aggregate.

Enyimba through, Wolves out

In the return leg
of the CAF Confederation Cup match played in Aba yesterday, Enyimba
cancelled out AS Vital of Congo’s 3-0 first leg to end the match 3-3.
The Aba club went on to book a place in the group stage of the
competition with a 7-6 win via penalties.

It was however not
a sweet tale for the country’s campaigners in the CAF Confederation Cup
as Warri Wolves were edged out by CAPS United from Zimbabwe. The
Nigerian side lost out 2-0 on the day after taking a slim 2-1 advantage
to Harare.

Coach of Oriwu
Senior Secondary School, Ogunsanmi Abolore says Gaskiya Senior College
of Ajegunle, which beat his side 3-2 on Saturday in the final of the
2009/2010 Principals Cup at the Teslim Balogun Balogun Stadium, was the
better the side on the day.

“My team was very
bad in the first half. The Gaskiya team had very tall defenders and I
told my players to play long balls behind the defence but they could
not. You saw the second half, the three goals were too much and we
could not make it all the way back. I have been with the team for eight
months and all the players are in SS3.” A game of two halves Gaskiya
were much the superior side in the first half as the Oriwu boys were
reduced to a bunch of nerves. As early as the second minute when Aliu
Jamiu rattled the cross bar from a free-kick from 30 metres. A mistake
by Chibuzor Orji let in Sikiru Yusuf and he scored with an assured
touch.

All play was concentrated in the Oriwu half. The pressure
continued until the 28th minute when from a corner kick from the right,
Tope Komolafe made a sweet connection with his head to give Gaskiya a
deserved second goal. Oriwu were rocking and the pressure did not
relent. In the best move of the half, Ibrahim Fatai picked the ball on
the halfway danced around his marker, passed to Ajao Sikiru, who are
cut in to the box and laid the ball on a plate for rampaging Ibrahim
Yusuf to blast home the third goal and his second goal of the game.

Rampaging Thomas

The second half
started the way that the first half ended with Fatai again bursting
into the box but he fired his shot marginally wide. From then on, it
was a different game. The midfield creator for Oriwu, Kayode Thomas,
who had been a revelation in their march to the finals, woke up and
started pulling the strings.

In the 12th minute of the second stanza,
Thomas split the defence with a slide rule pass to release Samson
Anyanwu who made no mistake in poking home. At this stage, the next
goal was going to be very important. That goal came with 16 minutes to
go and proved the best Oriwu could do.

Ibrahim Bio, the
minister of sports, has been commended by former Eagle, Emmanuel
Amuneke for changing the Super Eagles hotel to a much befitting one.

There had been
widespread criticisms over the choice of Hampshire Hotel Ballito, and
Bio moved swiftly to change the hotel to Protea at Richards Bay.

Amuneke, the 1994 Africa Player-of-the-Year wondered why Sani Lulu and the NFF would go for a hotel still under construction.

“They just don’t
know what to do anymore,” he said. “How can they lodge a national team
in a hotel that is yet to be completed with no fence and adequate
security and expect the players to stay focused and achieve their funny
semi final target?

We will not change
the way we talk on salient issues that affect our football. We are
stakeholders in this round leather game and they should stop deceiving
us with all these ‘no money’ issue.”

Amuneke’s teammate
in the Tunisia 1994 Nations Cup and USA‘94 World Cup, Thompson Oliha,
wondered why the federation did not go for a FIFA -approved hotel,
Protea Waterfront Hotel in the first place.

“I wonder why the
NFF wanted a kind of hotel which was not FIFA approved,” he said. “FIFA
have officially listed some hotels for the 32 teams to stay during the
World Cup, so why they went for the Hampshire Hotel beats my
imagination. They should have kept to FIFA’s regulation and
arrangements for the World Cup.”

Good for the Eagles

“It’s good the coach, Lars Lagerback, went for the new hotel which I hear is a better one than the previous,” Oliha maintained.

Joseph Dosu, goalkeeper for the Atlanta‘96 Olympic gold squad, expressed his relief that Bio changed the hotel.

“They said that
they booked the Hampshire hotel in the first place at the behest of
Shuaibu Amodu. Thank God he (Amodu) has come out to say he was not the
one that booked the hotel,” he said. “The NFF are just running our
football the way they understand it.

I’m happy the
minister waded in to unravel the mystery behind the whole thing. They
are just wasting the tax payer’s money. Now they have been dragged to
the Presidency, by the time one or two of them lose their jobs, the
rest will sit up and do what is right for the good of our football.
It’s just unfortunate”.

The Eagles will now be staying at the 4-star Protea Hotel at
Richards bay with, Coach Lagerback set to release a modified 30-man
list to beat FIFA’s deadline of Tuesday.

With each passing
day it becomes clearer to even the most incurable optimists that the
gentlemen in the glass house called the Nigeria Football Federation,
(NFF), are operating on a planet different from the rest of us.

Sani Lulu and his
team, particularly the duo of Bolaji Ojo’Oba, the secretary general,
and Taiwo Ogunjobi, chairman of the Technical Committee, seem to be
embarked on a mission, which known only to themselves, is sure to end
in the ruin of Nigerian football, if left unchecked.

From the conduct of
the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, where ignoring the rather obvious fact
that the Eagles technical crew was too insipid to inspire the team to
greater performance and thus nearly imperilled our appearance in this
June’s World Cup, to the merry go round that was the selection of a new
coach for the squad following Shuaibu Amodu’s sack in February, the NFF
has proven to be grossly incompetent.

The Hampshire horror

If the two issues
referred to above can be excused on grounds of the magnanimity of the
Nigerian spirit, the conduct of Lulu and company regarding the
selection of a hotel for the Eagles World Cup campaign in South Africa
clearly cannot be condoned.

That the NFF
leadership could choose a hotel not on the list of those approved by
FIFA, and one that was clearly below acceptable standards, raises
serious questions as to the motive of Lulu and his men.

When this paper ran
photos of the hotel alongside an in-depth report of its location and
available facilities, it was clear to Nigerians that something was
wrong somewhere. Apart from its location, which was awkward for a team
participating in a World Cup and so would need a serene and secure
environment, the Hampshire hotel, without a perimeter fence to screen
off unwanted individuals, posed some danger to the squad.

This point, Sports Minister Ibrahim Bio was to make when he visited the hotel last week to assess its suitability.

Thankfully, Bio,
who since his assumption as the new boss of the sports ministry has not
allowed the cabal ruining Nigerian sports to lead him by the nose, has
scuppered whatever under hand deal must have transpired between the NFF
management that led Lulu and his lieutenants to settle for the facility.

Carrying the can

Still Lulu should
not be let off lightly. After his faux pas, he remains unrepentant. On
Monday in Lagos, the NFF boss, to head off negative reports following
Bio’s decision to discard the hotel arranged a parley with journalist
where he said: “If given the opportunity again, I will go for Hampshire
Hotel.”

“My priority since
I got the mandate to lead NFA is to give the best. We are not to be
blamed for anything. The whole thing is from FIFA. They are the ones
who normally accommodate World Cup teams. But instead, they preferred
to pay $400 per player for a day’s accommodation. It is based on what
we have that we decided to settle in Hampshire which of course was also
approved by FIFA. FIFA is in charge of security and they don’t toy with
it.”

It was Amodu and
Peterside that got the hotel. The first day that I led delegation to
the hotel, I pointed out areas like the fencing and other areas which
the owners of the hotel promised to amend. When the new coach, Lars
Lagerback came on board, he liked the place but preferred Richardson,”
added Lulu.

It is all very nice and convenient for Lulu to shift responsibility for picking the hotel to Amodu.

However, every responsible leader knows that the buck for decisions taking by his organisation stops on his table.

However, allowing
that he deferred to Amodu as coach of the team in approving Hampshire
as Eagles base, why he did he not then respect Lagerback’s wishes and
opt for Richards Bay since the Swede had taken over as manager of the
Eagles?

As it is, his indiscretion will cost us a princely $125,000 (about N19 million) going by FIFA’s ruling.

The NFF must be
made to pay this sum. This can be deducted from whatever subvention is
due to the NFF from the sports ministry. If deducting it inconveniences
the NFF in any way, then Lulu and his cronies should find a way to fill
the void. That is the least they can do to atone for their incompetence.

There is a general
belief among football pundits that the team that will triumph at this
year’s World Cup in South Africa may be the team welded by a collective
spirit.

Together a team bound by a collective team ethics often achieves more than a team, which is just a collection of stars.

In Nigeria’s case,
fortunately or unfortunately, this depends on how you look at the
situation – our Eagles are far from being a collection of stars, maybe
a bare sprinkling of some galaxy dust.

However, the key to
a successful outing at the Mundial rests on the outcome of its opening
match against Argentina on June 12. The match is one that is giving
Nigerian football fans the chills. The spectre of having the little
genius, Lionel Mess, Carlos Tevez and Sergei Aguerro unleashed on the
Eagles defence is one football faithful in the country dread. For many,
here in Nigeria, the South Americans are as good as victorious.

But Garba Lawal
thinks that may not be the case. Lawal, was a former Super Eagles
player and scorer of a World Cup goal against Spain at France ‘98. The
Eagles recovered in that match to beat the Spaniards 3-2. He was also a
part of the team that won that historic Olympic Gold medal at the
Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.

While he cannot say
that Nigeria will win the World Cup, he is also sure that the team will
not be disgraced – you can choose to read in between the lines. Lawal
said: “Everybody is talking about Argentina as if they are the only
team we are going to play against in South Africa. If the Eagles
prepare well and present a good team against Maradona’s men, then they
stand a chance of getting a positive result from that opening match.”
“Anything is possible in football. Nigeria beat Brazil in the semi
final of the Atlanta 1996 Olympics; that was unexpected but it
happened.” That reinforces the fact that Lars Lagerback must foist a
siege-like mentality in the team and place them in a space where they
will play out of their skin. The first match against World Cup
favourites, Argentina is very important. The Eagles must do all they
can not to lose this match. In a three-game group, losing the first
match might just mean crashing out of the tournament. In the two
editions that the Eagles have gone on to the second round, we won our
first matches.

In 1994, against
all odds, the Eagles beat Bulgaria complete with Hristo Stoichkov 3-0,
and in 1998, Nigeria beat European heavyweights, Spain 3-2. In 2002,
where we failed to qualify for the second round, Argentina beat the
Eagles 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Gabriel Batistuta. We have to
qualify at least for the second round to justify the huge $1.5million
paid to Lagerback for a contract that will end after the World Cup.

‘Chindo’ – as Lawal
was fondly referred to by admirers during his playing days- recalled
the unexpected defeat that Inter Milan handed to favourites, Barcelona
in the Champions League and used it as an analogy of the Nigeria versus
Argentina match.

The only way forward

Lawal believes so
much on the unpredictability of football. “Anything can happen on match
day. In the present collection of players that make up the ‘Super’
Eagles, the most potent weapon that we have is explosive pace and
unpredictability.” That is saying something for how Lagerback should
prepare his team. Football is an instinctive game and can be taught
(not the skills needed) by simulation of procedure and make-up. So
players can be taught to press opponents, how to push skilful players
away from danger zones and how to be tactically arranged at set plays.
This has always been a weakness of all our national teams.

Set plays

This is one
important area where Nigeria is sorely deficient. The Eagles are not
particularly fond of getting results from free kicks, corner kicks and
even penalty kicks. Equally worse is our ability to defend from these
set pieces. On occasion the Eagles have been particularly vulnerable.
Against Argentina at the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup, the goal that gave
the South Americans victory over Nigeria came off a corner kick. The
Argentines had repeatedly tried the same experiment until it paid off.

Lawal says good
coaching could solve that problem. “Only 11 intelligent and obedient
players can get the desired result in South Africa, starting with the
first game against Argentina on June 12.” The implication of Lawal’s
statement is that Lagerback should ensure that he has a set of ‘robots’
ready to carry out his instructions and plans to the letter.

In the defence against Argentina

Given the array of
attacking options the Argentines have, the intelligence Lawal referred
to has to be in good supply in the Eagles defence.

“While I am not
trying to prejudge the mind of the coach, there are some players that
apparently show that they are not intelligent. The best defenders in
the world are the ones who are always well positioned, read the play
very well and can dispossess the attacker without committing fouls,”
Lawal continued”.

Joseph Yobo, on
his good day, is a dependable defender, blessed with physical presence,
speed and aerial ability. The only problem -and this will be a big
challenge for Lagerback -is the fact that he regularly loses
concentration, which makes him, take up positions that put him on the
back foot against very nimble strikers. Put Yobo up against the likes
of Adriano, Carlton Cole and other big men and he would look awesome
but against attackers like Tevez, Owen and Rooney, he has been found
wanting on many occasions.

Argentina has these
small nimble strikers in abundance. If he plays in the opening game he
will come up against Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguerro and
Gonzalo Higuain, who is not the biggest of strikers. The advice to the
team is Joseph Yobo should not be found dead making these players,
which must be the job of one of the two sitting mid-fielders. He can be
played as the libero, bringing the ball out of defence.

Apam Onyekachi is
believed to have better marking skills and is faster, and like he
showed in Beijing in 2008, he will not be fazed by the fact of facing
the classy Argentines.

Pressing mid-fielders

Here is certainly
the crux of the matter and the stature and deployment of personnel will
be key to slowing down the pacy Argentines. While Lawal likes the
hassling spirit of Sani Kaita, he has come to realise the need for the
physical bulk and experience of Dickson Etuhu of Fulham. Lawal said of
Etuhu:

“Watching the
1.90metres, 82kg hulking player in Fulham’s Europa Cup adventure to the
finals, the Nigerian player has shown that though he is not a box to
box mid-fielder, he is very tactically efficient. What he does may look
simple, guarding the defence and being the first line of attack -we
need all the tactically efficient players that we can find – just like
Inter Milan did to Barcelona.” In the UEFA Champions League, Thiago
Motta and Esteban Cambiasso were ingenious in denying space to Xavi
Hernandez and Lionel Messi. If Nigeria can do the same to Argentina,
then we could be singing for an unlikely win. Etuhu should be
complemented by another giant – Mikel Obi. Obi has more attacking flair
than the Fulham man so he can play in front of him. This is
presupposing that the Eagles play with two holding midfielders.

Sharp forwards

Samuel Eto’o, Diego
Milito and Goran Pandev always drove at the Barcelona defence in their
first leg match and the running and harassing of that defence led to
three goals. Every opportunity to score must be maximised for the
Eagles. We may not get too many chances against the Argentines but we
must convert the ones we get.

Lawal believes that
if the Eagles maximise most of the chances that comes their way,
Nigeria may just surprise the South Americans.

“Ik Uche, Chinedu
Obasi, Obafemi Martins and Osaze Odemwingie are blessed with pace,
trickery, intelligence and shot taking. These four must find a way to
synchronise their movements to always be positive. They must commit
their markers in driving for goal at every opportunity.” Manchester
United showed this format well in the 3-2 win over Bayern Munich in the
UEFA Champions League quarter final match at Old Trafford. Nani,
Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney were always moving and swapping
places. The defenders of Bayern including World Cup-bound Argentine,
Martin Demechelis were left flailing in the first quarter of that game
and United scored thrice in this phase of the game.

Victory over
Argentina is possible but it will require huge doses of commitment and
desire. All said and done, it will be down to the importance of
concentration and preparation, particularly mental readiness and the
desire to win that will ultimately enhance the Eagles’ chances in South
Africa.