Nigeria Content Online

Former Nigeria
international Nduka Ugbade feels all hope is not yet lost for the Super
Eagles regarding their chances of posting a good outing at the World
Cup, despite Tuesday night’s goal-less draw against Saudi Arabia.

The Super Eagles
were far from impressive against the Saudis in the encounter played in
the Austrian town of Wattens and did little to boost the confidence of
their teeming fans ahead of the World Cup.

In fact, the
general impression amongst Nigerians in the aftermath of Tuesday’s
friendly match is that the Super Eagles will struggle in South Africa
where they will be up against Argentina, Greece and South Korea, but
Ugbade, although not equally impressed with the performance of most of
the players that prosecuted the game against the Saudis, feels there
were a couple of positives from the encounter.

“As a Nigerian, I
wasn’t happy about the score line but I think it wasn’t all that bad,
as there were some good points as well. I’d say there’s still hope for
the team,” said Ugbade, a former Super Eagles defender.

“First of all, Lars
Lagerback finally got to play a match and got to assess the fitness
level of some of the players who didn’t get to play on a regular basis
for their clubs.”

Last chance to shine

Lagerback kept out
the likes of Taye Taiwo, Dickson Etuhu, Vincent Enyeama, Aiyegbeni
Yakubu and Osaze Odemwingie from the game against the Saudis but there
is a possibility they will all get to feature on Sunday against
Colombia in the team’s last friendly match before the Swede gets to
name his final 23-man squad for the World Cup.

Ugbade expects
Lagerback to present a much stronger line up for the game against the
Colombians but he wouldn’t mind taking another look at the likes of
Terna Suswan, Victor Anichebe and Haruna Lukman, who stood out against
the Saudis.

“The guy from Lobi
Stars (Suswan) impressed me, so also did Haruna Lukman and Anichebe,”
he said. “I don’t know if they have done enough to impress the coach
and I don’t know if they have been doing the same thing at their
training sessions but I think they did a good job.”

Looking ahead to
the Colombia tie, Ugbade expects a more aggressive, albeit not so
cohesive, display from the Super Eagles even though he is quick to
admit that it is still too early for the team to start playing the way
Lagerback would prefer them to.

“I think they will
be more aggressive against Colombia, as it will be the last chance for
some of the players to make it into the World Cup team but I don’t
think we should expect to see a great deal of cohesion, as it is still
a bit too early for that,” added Ugbade.

The Super Eagles
technical crew led by Lars Lagerback look set to lay greater emphasis
on the team’s attack as they continue their preparations for the World
Cup taking place in South Africa.

Roland Andersson,
an assistant to Lagerback, disclosed this to Swedish newspaper, Dagens
Nyheter. He noted that during the initial training sessions, the squad
worked on the defence and, following the prosecution of last Tuesday’s
international friendly against Saudi Arabia, will now focus more on
attack.

Concerning Tuesday
night’s game against the Saudis, Andersson said the tune-up game was
“important” since it offered the technical crew a chance “to see the
players in action, and what they can do individually.”

Lagerback opted to
play a 4-4-2 system featuring the likes of Danny Shittu, Elderson
Echiejile, Victor Anichebe, Nwankwo Kanu, Joseph Yobo and Austin Ejide
amongst other players in the starting line-up and ended up making six
substitutions before the end of the goalless encounter.

Andersson confirmed
that they decided on starting players who had not played a lot recently
in order “to get them going.” On Sunday, some of them will get to
feature in the international friendly against Colombia. The decision to
improve the team’s attack, according to Lagerback, is to strenghten the
team for the games against Argentina, Greece, and South Korea in the
first round of the World Cup.

Lagerback who said
he was “satisfied” that the Super Eagles did not concede a goal in the
friendly in Wattens, Austria, in a generally lacklustre performance,
said: “This is just a build-up phase, we have only had four training
sessions,” adding that the Super Eagles “still needed a few aces.”

The squad has had some injuries including Chelsea midfielder John
Obi Mikel, and defender Onyekachi of Nice who were both missing from
the tie against the Saudis; but Lagerback, the erstwhile handler of the
Swedish national team, said he was hopeful the two would be fit to play
in the friendly on Sunday against Colombia.

Fit-again Chelsea
midfielder John Obi Mikel will join up with the rest of his Super
Eagles team-mates at their pre-World Cup camp on Thursday night upon
conclusion of his rehabilitation programme.

The versatile
midfielder missed Chelsea’s last four Premier League games as well as
their FA Cup final win over Portsmouth after suffering a knee injury in
April. He subsequently underwent knee surgery, raising doubts over his
participation at the World Cup in South Africa.

The 23-year-old has
been in England since the conclusion of the season and wasn’t around
for the send forth dinner organised for the Super Eagles in Abuja. He
wasn’t also available for Tuesday night’s goalless draw against Saudi
Arabia but will now join up with the rest of the squad who are already
back at their base camp in Essex, near London.

Other injury concerns

Also not available
for the game against the Saudis was Onyekachi Apam who was nursing an
injury but, according to a statement made available to NEXTSports by
the media officer of the Nigeria Football Federation Ademola Olajire,
the defender appears to have overcome his injury setback after training
together with the rest of the team on Wednesday evening. The versatile
OGC Nice of France player had previously trained separately while he
recuperated from injury.

Another player who
also trained with the rest of the team on Wednesday was Israel based
goalkeeper Dele Aiyenugba who joined up with the rest of the Super
Eagles squad in Wattens, Austria moments before the commencement of
Tuesday night’s international friendly against the Saudis.

Meanwhile,
arrangements for Sunday’s international friendly against Colombia have
been concluded. The game will now come up at the Milton Keynes Stadium
with Olajire confirming that the match will suffer no further shift in
venue.

The game was recently moved from Boleyn Ground to Kenilworth Road,
home ground of Luton Town FC, after the match organizers failed to
reach an agreement with West Ham United, the owners of Boleyn Ground.
But no sooner had the NFF announced the new venue before it was changed
once again, and Olajire disclosed that both the NFF and its Colombian
counterpart have jointly decided to report the match agent, Pro-Global
Sports to FIFA for behaving irresponsibly.

FIFA provides extra tickets

An extra 150,000
tickets for all 64 World Cup matches will be put on sale on Friday
after 96 per cent of seats were sold, FIFA Secretary-general Jerome
Valcke said.

If the additional
tickets were sold the tournament would reach almost 98 percent capacity
across all the 10 stadiums. A total of nearly 2.9 million seats were
available for the world’s most watched sporting event, which runs for a
month from June 11.

Estimates of
foreign visitors for the World Cup, once put at 450,000, have recently
been reduced to between 300,000 and 370,000. The number has been
depressed by the global economic crisis, the cost of a long-haul World
Cup destination and fears over South Africa’s high levels of violent
crime.

Cameroun waiting for clearance

Cameroun are still
awaiting FIFA permission to field two players named in their
preliminary squad for the World Cup finals in South Africa. Defender
Gaetan Bong, and forward Eric Choupo-Moting were not fielded alongside
the other newcomers in the friendly against Georgia in Linz on Tuesday
because world football’s governing body had not yet given permission
for them to switch nationality, coach Paul Le Guen told reporters.

Bong is a former
French youth international, while Choupo-Moting has won four caps for
Germany at under-21 level. Both are of Cameroon descent and have dual
nationality. Under FIFA rules, players can change their footballing
nationality if they have not been capped at senior level.

The pair was named
among nine uncapped players in Le Guen’s preliminary squad of 30 for
the World Cup, where they play Denmark, Japan and the Netherlands in
Group E.

Hard tackles to be outlawed

FIFA medical chief,
Michel D’Hooghe, wants referees at the World Cup in South Africa to
crack down on players who commit career-threatening tackles during
matches. D’Hooghe says that he plans to give referees plenty of
instruction and warning, adding that a big event like the World Cup
offers a chance to send the message that these kinds of bone-crunching
tackles are unacceptable.

“We will
specifically tell our referees and let everyone know to use the red
card as soon as a career-threatening foul is committed at the World
Cup.”

FIFA President saddened by singer’s death

Following the news
of the sudden death of Siphiwo Ntshebe who was due to perform at the
opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa on 11 June,
FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter sent a message of condolence to the
singer’s family, courtesy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising
Committee South Africa.

“I am very sad
indeed to hear this news” said Blatter in his message. “This young man,
whose talent had been identified and supported by no less than Nelson
Mandela was about to showcase that talent to millions of people around
the world. That he should pass away so suddenly, and so close to the
opening of the first FIFA World Cup to be hosted on African soil is
very cruel, but we are not the masters of our destiny.”

The FIFA President will also convey his sympathy in person to the Organising Committee on his arrival in Johannesburg tomorrow.

The Special One has
more than earned his moniker now. Jose Mario dos Santos Felix Mourinho,
to give him full respect, on Saturday became only the third manager in
history to win the UEFA Champions League with two clubs.

In 2004, he led
Portuguese club, Porto to European fame. With this latest victory with
Inter Milan of Italy, he also completed an unprecedented Italian treble
having won the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia. An elated Inter
president, Massimo Moratti, said:

“Mourinho is
unique. No one can coach, motivate and communicate like he can. We have
to agree with this as the Italian side had to wait forty five years to
conquer Europe again”.

Truly special

At a relatively
young age of 47, he has won a lot of silverware for Porto, Chelsea and
Inter Milan. This is his second treble as a manager and even more
incredibly, he remains unbeaten in all home league games with these
clubs since 2002; a phenomenal record, one that has definitely
established his reputation as a master tactician and a man in the top
tier of football management. Love him or hate him, no one can deny the
Special One his Special place in history.

But his style of
football has been much criticised over the years. Purists argue that
his largely negative football kills the game as we know and enjoy it,
thus earning him the ‘anti-football’ tag in some quarters. If he does
go on to manage Real Madrid, there are fears that he will stifle the
attack-minded club’s style. That’s all very well but he’s a man that
consistently delivers the silverware. And silverware is desperately
needed by the mega spending Spanish club.

Beautiful game or silverware?

Which brings me to
ask the question: which would you choose? Would you, a football fan,
opt for flair football over a full trophy cabinet? Jose Mourinho can
serve as a mini case study. Looking at the Champions League final, I
feel it could certainly have been a more exciting game. With Inter’s
two defensive midfielders lying very deep, the odds were against this
from kick off. But in a game where the opposition enjoyed the lion’s
share of possession and failed to lift the trophy, can we really blame
Mourinho? His strength is the strategic forethought that he brings to
the game and his ability to unite a motley group to one purpose. Any
Mourinho-led team maintains discipline on the back line and take their
chances on the counter attack. But he also showed in the first leg of
the semi finals against Barcelona that he can adapt the alleged
negative football to get results.

There are few of us
who would choose style over results. Ask any Arsenal fan and they will
probably settle for some form of silverware over fantastic footie. For
me, if I could see our Super Eagles win the African Cup of Nations in
succession and perhaps even the World Cup, believe me when I say that I
would be willing to suffer 90 or even 120 minutes of rotten football.
Did they say negative, please make that a double negative.

I love to watch
exciting football as much as the next person but if any team continues
to lose, they will lose some fans. Even diehard fans begin to lose
patience when all you can boast of is, ‘well, we play the game like it
should be played.” Exodus will take on a whole new meaning for the club
as they watch players move on to other clubs in order to achieve bigger
things, making the team even less appealing to potential trophy
winners. And there are financial implications too: fewer trophies=less
prize money. Would I choose winning over exciting football? Yes
(whisper) for a little while.

The Nigerian male
and female table tennis teams look good for promotion as both teams
continue their fine display at the ongoing World Table Tennis
Championships in the Russian capital of Moscow.

The female team,
led by German-based Oshonaike Funke, are currently playing in the third
division where it hopes to move up into the second division, while the
male are in the second division and dream of moving up to into the top
echelon.

Awesome display

The Nigerian ladies
are currently occupying the top spot in Group I after winning all their
previous matches against Pakistan 3-0, Macao 3-1, Montenegro 3-0, and
Kazakhstan 3-0.

The team would
attempt to keep the perfect winning record intact as it plays its last
group match later today against Latvia who have so far lost two games
in the tourney.

The male team have
also been impressive winning all their matches; 3-0 whitewash of
Scotland, beat Turkey 3-2 and Netherlands 3-0 but still have high
riding Serbia and the group’s whipping boys; United States to contend
with.

The male players
representing Nigeria includes highest rated Nigerian player, Segun
Toriola, and Monday Merotohun, who are both based in France; alongside
Seun Ajetumobi and Bode Abiodun, who both ply their trade in Portugal;
while home-based Aruna Quadri completes the list.

For the female
team; Funke Oshonaike, who plays in Germany, leads the quartet of
home-based Ganiat Ogundele, Janet Offiong, Atinuke Olaide and Edem
Offiong.

The ongoing world
championship is the first to be handled by the Kayode
Abdulwahab-Omotose-led Nigeria Table Tennis Federation board, which
assumed office last year. The country hopes to use the tourney to shape
up for the Commonwealth Games holding later in the year in New Delhi,
India.

The World Table Tennis Championships runs through May 30 in the Russian Capital of Moscow.

Announcing the most
recent sports minister did not generate any immediate excitement
because of past dysfunctional officers. The current minister has just
one year to either make the usual pledge of miraculously changing the
face of Nigerian sports (without giving any clear blue-print) but
eventually doing nothing, or he can decide to quietly ride out his term
by simply enjoying the perks of an office suddenly bestowed upon him.

Opportunity to make a difference

If he selects the
latter, most Nigerians will not be surprised. He could then decide to
use the period to relevantly position himself with a target of an
opportunity to serve again in the next government in whatever capacity
he gets. If you are one of those who think that could be difficult,
think again! You seem to have forgotten that 2010 presents jamboree
opportunities to woo many influential politicians with federal
government sponsored trips to the World Cup in South Africa and
Commonwealth Games in India later in the year.

However, he can
decide to leave an indelible mark on Nigerian sports by doing the right
things to endear himself to millions of Nigerians for whom passionate
involvement in sports offers the cheapest and most exhilarating
solitary comfort in these harsh economic times. Yes! He can do it in
just one year! How you may ask? He can do this by simply focusing on
reconstructing the ruined basics of Nigerian sports development and
functionality.

In my opinion, it
really doesn’t matter what the personal qualifications of the minister
is, so far he has the managerial acumen to envision policy, appoint and
supervise relevantly experienced and fresh personnel who share his
vision, and who are 120% committed to actualising it. I harboured an
initial scepticism when he took the now customary tour of some selected
sports facilities because the action seemed to have ‘façade’ written
all over it based on the antecedents of many of his predecessors.
However some of his more important decisions give slight hope.

For example his
prompt and correct decision over the Eagles hotel matter and decision
to revive government-sponsored foreign sports scholarships for
developing talented Nigerian athletes.

Also, the
minister’s alleged decision to fight corruption by ‘rocking the boat’
starting with a long overdue probe into the finances of the Nigeria
Football Federation is a good start. It tows the line of the
Presidency’s priorities but there is still the matter of also following
‘oga’ in at least stating his intention to focus on correcting the
ruined basics; if he wants to that is.

So what are these
basics or foundations that need immediate action if he truly desires to
reposition Nigeria sports at the forefront of both domestic and
international sports? Here are some of the more important ones.

Focus on football but do not neglect other sports

First and foremost,
he must be a minister of sports and not of football. Yes football is
Nigeria and the world’s foremost sport, but he must not get carried
away like others before him. The minister must remember that hundreds
of thousands of Nigerian talent in other sports have been, and are
still suffering from abject neglect of their talents over the past two
decades or so.

Sports like
handball, volleyball, athletics, boxing, and tennis (Table & Lawn)
that brought Nigeria invaluable international esteem and laurels have
been overshadowed by the injudicious focus on soccer. It is not only in
Nigeria this happens but all over the world. However, the rest of the
world has ensured that other sports are not neglected.

We usually boast of
the huge variety of potential Nigeria has in terms of mineral and human
resources, but haven’t come close to scratching the surface of
utilising this potential in sports. For example, it is high time
swimming talents are systematically sought amidst Nigerians residing in
the creeks and riverside areas of the country, and providing excellent
training facilities to develop them. The time has come for a change and
the minister can catalyse this change.

Secondly and
probably most importantly, the minister must clearly state his plans
for revamping Nigerian sports and the strategies he plans to adopt for
achieving these goals. President Goodluck Jonathan has already set the
pace for his cabinet by announcing what his clear priorities are for
his year in office, and it is only wise that the honourable minister of
sports does the same. This will help him (and us) keep a clear track
record of achievements and enable us lend a helping hand if or when he
may go off course.

That FIFA has finally decided to clamp down on this outrageous
crime in football is a welcome development. How sincere this decision is and
how successful the war will be, will be based on how serious FIFA is, and how
desirous national football associations are.

Nigerians must therefore, appreciate the current Sports
Minister, for his bold directive to all sports associations in Nigeria, to
ensure that all athletes representing Nigeria in any age-grade competition,
must undergo a mandatory age verification test.

Lulu obstacle

Thank you Bio, but would your ‘big boys’ inside the Abuja glass house,
especially your classmate, Sani Lulu, obey? Will the loquacious, ‘basket-mouth’
Secretary General, agree with you? I am very sure that millions of Nigerians
have not forgotten the war of supremacy between Sani Ndanusa, your predecessor,
and Sani Lulu, over the age verification method the Nigeria Football Federation
(NFF) should adopt in order to confirm the true ages of the players who
represented us during the last U-17 FIFA World Cup tournament hosted by this
nation.

While Ndanusa insisted on using the M.R.I. equipment, Lulu
posited that parents of the players should be invited to verify the true ages
of their children. Well, thank God he did not suggest that the ‘men’ should
place their left or right hands on their heads and touch either the right or
left ear with such hands. Please don’t laugh, because this is not a laughable
issue. It is an issue that must be treated as absolutely unacceptable.

This obnoxious practice totally negates the fundamental
socio-political, economic, educational, and behavioural principles of football.
Perpetrators of this aberration including parents, school teachers, head
teachers, principals, coaches, and members of the so-called NFF, must be told
very unambiguously that they are not assisting in a process by which millions
of Nigerian children can be exposed early in life to the spirit of fair play,
respect, hard work, teamwork, self discipline, and tolerance. These are
attributes that can prepare our young ones for future leadership roles. Our
young ones must not be encouraged to cheat. Besides, it must be clearly
understood that this is one of the reasons largely responsible for the moral
decadence presently experienced in homes, schools, faith-based organisations,
and work places today.

Women also involved

Maybe it is important for Nigerians to be reminded that this
nation has paraded about 170 footballers in the last 9 editions of the FIFA
organised U-17 male competitions. But less than 10 of these 170 have been able
to make it to the senior World Cup level. Why? Simply because we have been
cheating.

The situation is not getting better anyway.

With the recent female players paraded by Nigeria against the
South Africans at the women U-17 World Cup qualifiers in Abeokuta, I was
ashamed and regretted going to watch the match. Haba! Even a blind man could
feel the fact that we paraded women, and not girls, as did the South Africans,
simply because we must win and qualify for the female World Cup. And because
that will enable some heartless individuals line their pockets with some hard
currencies.

Well, South Africa justifiably lodged a protest with FIFA
against Nigeria. It is interesting, but not surprising, that FIFA threw the
protest overboard, claiming, according to very reliable sources, that “South
Africa’s protest had no basis because Nigeria’s team was made up of young
players. Had they been older, it would have been a different scenario…”

FIFA unhelpful

Hmmn, anyone who claims that those women who represented us
against South Africa were U-17 girls should be subjected to a “head check” in
Abeokuta or Yaba.

FIFA’s response has not also helped matters at all. However,
this not surprising. That is why I mentioned earlier on that the success of
this so called M.R.I. tests will depend on whether FIFA is serious about it or
not.

My position has to do with what has been suggested many times in
this column. There is the urgent need for the sports ministry to educate
Nigerians, especially parents/guardians, on the negative implications of
age-falsification. Can Bio achieve this with Lulu and his cohorts?

Genuine grassroots football development supporters in Nigeria do
not sincerely think so. May God rescue this nation from the grips of enemies of
Nigerian sports, especially football. Amen.