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Women have been
playing football for well over a hundred years, long before the first
women’s World Cup took place in China in 1991. The introduction of
age-grade tournaments, first the U-20s in 2002 and then the U-17s in
2008, was meant to act as a breeding ground for young girls aspiring to
be stars.

But just as it has
happened and continues to happen in the men’s game, age cheats have
crept into women’s football and world football’s governing body, FIFA,
are not shying away from combating the menace as they have decided to
face it head-on ahead of this year’s U-17 World Cup taking place in
Trinidad and Tobago.

The device to be
used in this momentous age-detection exercise is known as the Magnetic
Resonance Imaging tests; otherwise known as the MRI scan, which when
applied on the bone, usually around the wrist area, work out the age of
a player.

MRI for women

It emerged last
week that FIFA had commenced tests aimed at ultimately ending
age-cheating in youth tournaments and had sent medical teams to
different parts of the world to conduct researches aimed at cracking
down on the menace.

An official of the
Zurich based organisation, Dr. Yacine Zerguini who was in Tanzania to
execute the exercise said: “MRI of the wrist is a simple, reliable,
valid and non-invasive method of age determination in young male
football players, and now FIFA wants to find out if the technique can
be used in women football.” Explaining how the study was conducted,
Zerguini said that by measuring the fusion of bones around the wrists
one will be able to determine whether a player is actually under 17,
adding that the fusion of bones normally takes place for people who are
above 17 years, which means if the fusion of bones has already taken
place in the player’s wrist, such a player must have passed that age.

Not for the first time

It won’t be the
first time FIFA will be attempting to combat age cheats with the MRI
scan as they had previously utilized most recently at last year’s FIFA
U-17 World Cup for boys in Nigeria, but to what degree of certainty can
the MRI scan work out the age of footballers? FIFA, at the end of the
U-17 tournament in Nigeria declared that no age cheats were discovered
through the tests that were randomly carried out on players over the
course of the tourney but there is enough reason to doubt the verdict
reached by the world body especially in the light of disclosures by
former international Adokie Amiesimaka that the captain of the Nigerian
team Fortune Chukwudi was much older than the age she claimed to be.

There were also
other instances such as the case of Deji Joel who after he was listed
among those who had initially failed the MRI scan carried out by the
Nigeria Football Federation on Golden Eaglets players prior to the
cadets’ tournament, ended up featuring at the tourney.

“No one has been
able to prove whether these teams cheat or not but it is not beneficial
in the end for anyone who does and I believe it’s one of the reasons
why an African side has been unable to win the World Cup, whether for
men or women,” said former Nigeria international Nduka Ugbade in a chat
with NEXTSports.

He then added:
“There are also other reasons why we haven’t done so well such as the
poor management of the sport by administrators but a lot of these
players pass their prime long before they get to play for the senior
team.”

South Africans protest

South Africa
recently lodged a protest to FIFA against Nigeria claiming that some
members of the Nigerian women’s U-17 team who had secured qualification
for the World Cup at South Africa’s expense had previously played in
matches at U-20 or U-23 level.

The petition did
not come as a surprise to many observers after the South African coach
Solly Lovengo, in the aftermath of his side’s 5-0 loss, claimed during
a post-match interview at the end of the first leg encounter in
Abeokuta that Nigeria had fielded a “mature team” against his girls.

Nigeria also won
the return leg encounter but with a less embarrassing 2-1 score line
and the South Africans were left with no choice but to lodge a protest
to FIFA.

FIFA however threw
out their protest. “Their protest had no basis because our team was
made up of young players. Had they been older it would have been a
different scenario,” said NFF secretary general Bolaji Ojo-Oba.

Prime suspects

But the root of
this syndrome can be traced to the desire to win at all costs by
coaches and countries, as well as parents desirous of saying goodbye to
poverty; parents who will go to any length to falsify the age of their
children and wards.

And as this trend
is inherent in a society where dishonesty pays; a society smeared by
dubious ethical standards, it comes as no surprise that countries from
Africa, Asia and South America are always the prime suspects.

“Poverty is what
drives players to cheat,” remarked Ojo-Oba. “Coming from poor
backgrounds, cheating is the only option left for them as that is the
only way they believe can take them away from poverty.

“In the past it was
difficult to determine the true ages of players because we could only
depend on their birth certificates, but with the MRI scan we can at
least be certain of the age of those that will be representing us,” he
added.

Sports minister
Ibrahim Bio recently made it mandatory for all athletes representing
the country at age-grade events to undergo a mandatory age verification
test and the NFF will be following this directive to the letter,
according to Ojo-Oba.

This means every
member of the U-17 women’s team will be subjected to an age
verification test before the final list of players gets sent to FIFA.

And should that be
the case, and there is no reason to believe the reverse will be the
case, then there should be no cause for alarm as Nigeria’s reputation
will not be thrown in the mud. But should the watching world expect a
scandal at the U-17 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago from any of the
other countries that will be competing at the tourney?

One can only wait and see whether FIFA’s aim of setting up a
separate championship for teenagers which, by the way, is to develop
players and expose them to top flight football at a young age, will be
achieved by the end of the championship on September 25, 2010.

After years of
doubt, soul searching and criticism, South Africa stands on the
threshold of a unique World Cup that looks likely to confound the
pessimists.

This country has
had to endure acres of negative foreign news reports and plenty of self
doubt in the six years since it won the right to host Africa’s first
World Cup.

With less than a
month to kick-off, most of those reports are discredited and although
there are still plenty of areas of concern to test the nerves of
organisers, ranging from violent crime to transport, the omens look
good.

For years media reported that FIFA had a “Plan B” to move the tournament if South Africa failed to be ready in time.

Instead, Africa’s biggest economy has done better than many nations preparing for either the World Cup or Olympics.

The 10 stadiums
were ready early and six of them – five built from scratch and one
extensively expanded and rebuilt — are magnificent arenas standing
comparison with any in the world.

From Johannesburg’s
90,000-capacity Soccer City, Africa’s biggest stadium, to Durban’s
arch-spanned arena and Cape Town’s bath-shaped bowl — both fronting
the ocean — the soccer fields are more than sports venues.

The grandiose projects affirm the confidence and ability of an often troubled country 16 years after the end of apartheid.

This event, more
than in almost any other country, has huge symbolic importance for a
nation torn by racial conflict for centuries which hopes the World Cup
will unite still wary blacks and whites in patriotic fervour.

Hosting the world’s
most-watched sporting event also has the potential to give an enormous
boost to South Africa’s image and its ability to attract investment and
millions of extra tourists to a country blessed with myriad attractions.

“New course” Danny
Jordaan, boss of the local organising committee, says that after years
of dire predictions that Africa would fail, the world will be
“spellbound” on June 11.

The tournament
would be a defining moment comparable to the end of apartheid. It would
mark “the pinnacle of the strides we have made over the last 16 years
and will chart a new course in our country’s history,” he told Reuters.

President Jacob
Zuma said the World Cup “is the single greatest opportunity we have
ever had to showcase our diversity and potential to the world. We must
rise and tell the story of a continent which is alive with
possibilities.” None of this means success is a foregone conclusion,
and a big failure under the international spotlight could do deep
damage to future tourism and investment.

One of the biggest
worries has been South Africa’s notorious crime — it has 50 murders a
day — which has undoubtedly deterred some European fans, although the
cost of this long-haul tournament during a world recession has probably
put off more.

Estimates of foreign visitor numbers have recently dropped from 450,000 to 370,000 or fewer.

The murder of white
supremacist Eugene Terre’blanche by two black farm workers fuelled more
alarmist reporting topped by the British tabloid Daily Star’s bizarre
assertion that machete-wielding gangs were roaming the streets.

Officials from Zuma
and Jordaan down have recited a well-rehearsed mantra that South Africa
has a long history of successfully hosting almost 150 international
events and will create a cocoon for the fans with a $174-million
security plan including 41,000 specially deployed police.

Most experts
believe this is likely to work, unless fans stray from well-guarded
areas into some of the frighteningly dangerous quarters of
Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria. They also believe terrorism is
unlikely, although it cannot entirely be discounted.

Foreign numbers

The drop in likely
foreign visitors has deflated a long-running cause of concern — lack
of accommodation capacity — but there are still worries that fans will
not find enough transport to get between matches, particularly by road.

If the tournament
is likely to be a big boost for South Africa, it is unlikely to do the
same favour for FIFA’s image in this country, damaged by what are seen
as heavy-handed actions to enforce strict rights protection for its
commercial partners and mistakes on ticketing.

FIFA has
acknowledged its error in long ignoring advice that the internet sales
system for tickets was unsuitable for Africa, where many fans do not
have access to computers.

Over-the-counter
sales were belatedly introduced a month ago, causing both a rush for
seats and the long-hoped-for jump in excitement among fans. Some
200,000 of the 2.7 million tickets remained unsold at the last count
and there are likely to be far fewer fans from other parts of Africa
than once hoped.

Perhaps the biggest
question over the World Cup will have to be answered after the final on
July 11 — was it worth spending more than $5 billion to stage it in a
country which still has an army of poor and some of the biggest wealth
disparities in the world?

Many domestic
critics say no, including township dwellers involved in a series of
violent protests recently against the delay in spreading the benefits
of black rule more widely.

However, World Cup
supporters say the tournament will not only boost foreign investment
but leave a lasting legacy of roads and major infrastructure, while
Jordaan passionately argues that Africa must not be deprived of its
favourite sport.

“Football is a
giver of hope and life and we must never argue that we must deny
Africans the fundamental pleasure and joy that football
generates…football is the one expression where Africans can compete
equally with anyone in the world.”

Ranked 101 in the
world; France based Segun Toriola alongside Funke Oshinaike would carry
the faint hopes of Nigeria on their shoulders as the country begins her
quest for honours in the World Team Table Tennis Championships today in
Moscow, Russia.

Ten players will be
representing the country at the week -long event which runs through 23
May -30 May with seventy one other countries grouped into three
categories billed to compete.

The team list

The male players
are Segun Toriola and Monday Merotohun who are both based in France
alongside the duo of Seun Ajetumobi and Bode Abiodun who both ply their
trade in Portugal while home-based Aruna Quadri completes the list.

While for the
female players; Funke Oshonaike who plays in Germany leads the trail
alongside home-based Ganiat Ogundele, Janet Offiong, Atinuke Olaide and
Edem Offiong.

Playing in the
second division, the men’s team would be up against Scotland in their
first match later today, while the women’s team which is grouped in the
third division faces Kazakhstan.

Segun Oguntade,
Secretary, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) explained that the
choice of players was carefully arrived at pointing out that the
players were picked solely on merit.

“They were selected
based on their current form. We monitor their recent performances
through the website in addition to their past records,’’ he said
According to Oguntade, the home -based players had been on intensive
training in Ibadan for the championship for quite a while as the
federation seeks a respectable performance from the country’s
representatives to the tourney.

Players’ Optimism

Speaking to
NEXTSports before the team’s departure, the only home-based male player
in the team; Aruna Quadri who plays for the Union Bank table tennis
team expressed readiness to do well at the event pointing out that he
is gradually gathering the confidence needed to perform creditably well
at the big stage.

“I know I have been
improving in my game, I have had the chance to attend some competitions
recently and I have learnt new things each time I play, by the grace of
God I would not disappoint the country” he said.

Quadri is currently
ranked 282 in the World and has showed some promise when he stunned the
continent beating his more experienced compatriot, Segun Toriola, and
the Egyptian duo of Ahmed Saleh and Lashin Al-Fayed to win the African
Singles Cup last year in Morocco.

This earned him
Africa’s sole ticket to the 2009 ITTF Men’s World Cup in Moscow, Russia
where he finished second in the maiden Intercontinental Cup.

For him the feat is still achievable even though admitting that it won’t be an easy task.

Meanwhile Ganiat
Ogundele who is also on the trip to Russia shares Quadri’s optimism as
she also believes she and her team mates can perform well in Russia.

“We know we need to
be focused in each game and work very hard to get the results we need,
we would put in our best and we hope that it would be good enough” she
said.

Ogundele had a
torrid season last year with the climax being her surrendering the
Asoju Oba title that she has won six times. She was ousted in the
quarter finals.

However Oguntade
has also expressed confidence that the team would do well in Moscow
based on their level of preparation, exposure and performances.

“Some of them
participated in Pro-Club Tour Qatar and German Open and with the recent
participations in the opens, they will stand out among other countries
at the tournament,’’ he said.

Six officials,
including the federation’s President, Abdulwahab Omotose and Abolarin
Tinuoye, the physiotherapist alongside coaches Ndem Richard, Akoja
Oluwole and Sunmola Lateef accompanied the players to Russia.

Many who know
football well will consider Greece as outsiders at the 2010 World Cup
in South Africa, but the Super Eagles of Nigeria must not be part of
this group. That will be because of their German coach, Otto Rehhagel.
In the only previous encounter at the 1994 World Cup, the Eagles beat
the Greeks 2-0, to finish top of the group. The Greek side finished the
tournament with no points and no goal scored. That record was abysmal
but will not be repeated by the 2010 side led by the wily old fox, Otto
Rehhagel at the tail-end of his enviable career.

The Greek gift Otto
Rehhagel became the coach of Greece in 2001 and not much was expected
of the German tactician with the Greek national side that had qualified
for the European Cup and the World Cup just once in their history. He
was a Bundesliga veteran with varying degrees of exploits with his
various clubs but his most outstanding and compelling character trait
had always been his doggedness. That showed up in the Greeks as his
influence began to show on the team. They qualified for Euro 2004,
where they beat Portugal twice, France and the Czech Republic on the
way to lifting the cup.

There were no stars
in his team but despite that slight handicap, the Greek team won the
championship, conceding no goals in the knock-out stage.

His approach was a
defensive network of all players behind the ball and strict adherence
to using spot kicks to get goals. The score-line of 1-0 was the most
constant with which the Greek side won matches.

At that time
Rehhagel said: “No one should forget that a coach adapts the tactics to
the characteristics of the available players. But no one should make
the mistake of labelling Rehhagel as a defensive coach because in his
time as Werder Bremen coach, they played quality and attractive
attacking football that was a delight to watch.

Qualifying for South Africa 2010

Greece picked up
three consecutive victories over Luxembourg, Latvia and Moldova,
scoring eight times and conceding none in the process. They lost twice
to Switzerland which ultimately landed them in the second position and
a playoff berth against Ukraine.

Rehhagel and his
team beat Ukraine in a two-legged play-off. After drawing 0-0 in
Athens, no one gave them a chance in Ukraine but they surprised the
world and their hosts with a hard won 1-0 win in Donetsk with the
decisive goal coming from Dimitrios Salpingidis.

The Rehhagel factor at South Africa 2010

Otto Rehhagel has
turned Greece into a rigorous defensive unit, usually adopting a rigid
4-5-1 or even a 5-4-1 formation with huge emphasis on set-pieces. Their
success at the Euros was partly due to Rehhagel deploying an
old-fashioned man-marking system with a sweeper which most teams had
forgotten how to play against. That was a surprise wand to winning the
Euro 2004 edition to many but immediately teams got a hang of it, it
lost its magic. They failed to qualify for the 2008 European
Championships but a fall back on the 2004 set of players has brought
Greece to the 2010 World Cup.

What you will get
in abundance with Rehhagel’s team is loads and loads of experience. The
spine of the side, the goalkeeper, Konstantinos Chalkias is 36,
defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos of Liverpool is 30, midfielder cum talisman
for the side, captain Georgios Karagounis is 33 and top scorer for the
side in the World Cup qualifiers with 10 goals, Theofanis Gekas is 30.

Rehhagel
popularized the phrase kontrollierte Offensive (controlled offence)
where he stresses the importance of two big, strong headers in central
defence – Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Giourkas Seitaridis. Rehhagel likes
his defenders tall and robust, not given to too much football skills –
they will take no prisoners in their tackles.

There will be a lot of wing play as Gekas, the lone striker, is a good header of the ball.

So expect the team to always widen their approach as they get near the opponents goal area.

This Greek team
will play with a lot of patience from back to front and will be
deployed in an ultra-defensive formation with emphasis on closing all
avenues into their box and relying on free kicks and corner kicks to
hurt the opponent.

Finally, Rehhagel
is a good motivator and his teams usually display a lot of oneness and
fighting spirit. The Greek team will not be short of motivation coming
to South Africa as most of them will not be around for the 2014 edition
in Brazil so they want to go out with heads held high.

In a long and
distinguished career as both a player and coach, World Cup rookie coach
at 71 years old, Rehhagel has achieved a lot but his swan song could
yet be getting the Greeks into the second round of the World Cup. He is
a battle hardened general who will deploy his troops most effectively
and with that squad brimming with a lot of age and experience, they
know their limits and how to achieve it.

Greece will open
their World Cup campaign against Korea Republic on June 12 at the newly
built Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and the name of the stadium reeks of
wisdom and age – a perfect combination for the Greeks.

Every MTN/Kano
International Polo Tournament has a distinctive atmosphere, but this
year’s edition seems even more special than usual.

With sponsorship
topped by MTN’s N15m and others from Dantata Organizations, Dangote
Group of Companies, BUA and other blue chip firms, this year’s edition
almost certainly will surely be one to be remembered for a long time to
come.

According to the
Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer of MTN Nigeria, Bola Akingbade,
this year’s tournament will be memorable one in many ways. One of which
he said, is the fact that over forty-four top Polo teams from all major
polo clubs across the country have been confirmed for this year’s
International polo extravaganza galloping-off on May 29. He said: “With
the solid backing of MTN, the Kano Polo tournament has become
increasingly popular by the day. And in line with our position as an
organization which seeks to support the distinct lifestyle of its
various customers, we have put everything in place to make this year’s
edition one of the most memorable in years,” he said.

Akingbade said one
of the highlights of this year’s tournament is the ‘MTN Innovation
Day,’ which is a grand exhibition to showcase various life-enriching
innovative products and services, specifically designed to enhance the
life and business performance of the northern elite.

The ambitious teams
dominated by arch rivals and un-respecting new comers will compete for
honours in the four Nigeria Polo Association regulation cups and a
handful of special awards to go with them.

The major prizes
that traditionally set the tournament agog with excitements include the
glittering and highly sought-after Emir of Katsina Cup that has the
invincible Mohammed Babangida as the undefeated champions.

El-Amin favoured
EL-Amin are favoured to extend their winning run in the event’s biggest
reward against the never say die, Katsina Hajara Farms powered by
Bashir Yar’Adua and last year’s runners-up, Lagos Rubicon who have
vowed to end decades of Kaduna stranglehold on the event.

With the quartet of
Muktar Adama, Bello Buba, Ibrahim Mohammed and their big boss, Mohammed
Babangida on parade, all the smart bets are staked heavily in their
favour to extend their intimidating Kano record, but Hadi Sirika-led
Rubicon boasting Bashir Dantata, Jamilu Mohammed and Mamuda Shehu in
his line-up believes he would have the last laugh.

The other major
prize that is guaranteed to provide the electricity that would send
sparks flying in all directions, is the event’s second most wanted
trophy, the Dantata Cup, which attracts seven teams from Lagos, Kaduna
and Katsina, host Kano and possibly Ibadan to complete the fray.

Each team comes
with a distinct character and capability. Hosts Kano, which watched
from the sideline as Katsina Masanawa stole the Dantata Cup show last
year, has asked their teeming fans to prepare for the celebration of
their lives as Kano teams are set for another Dantata Cup victory this
year.

Kano, Kaduna favoured

Predictably, both
Kaduna and Kano teams have been rated joint – favourites for the
Dantata Cup, but last year’s surprised winners from Katsina are saying
very little and discerning pundits believe Masanawa has both the horse
power and the players to retain the Dantata crown.

Over a dozen
equally matched teams would be up against one another as they rough it
out in the unpredictable Dangote Cup glory. As in the Dantata cup,
competition here will be quite intractable to pick out early favourites
in this intermediate goal category.

Both Kaduna and
hosts, Kano with the highest number of entries and teamed by their
hottest low handicap players post the shortest odds for the cup. Teams
from Lagos, Bauchi, Port Harcourt and Yola are expected to give the
favourites a good run for their money.

Defending champions

Kaduna Keffi Ponies
still hold the ace after winning the Dangote title on first attempt
last year. Wadada and his boy enjoy the MTN polo glory and are not in
any hurry to loss their prizes title.

The low goal Audu
Bako Cup that completes the line-up of the major MTN polo prizes at
stake in Kano has the entire recipe for a war of attrition.

Last year, Ahmed
Dasuki’s Oho polo team produced a stunning performance, beating better
rated oppositions to clinch the prize played in memory of the late
governor of Kano State.

Most of the
promising teenagers who were playing their first major tournament
showed why they are students of the famed OHO Sport Academy. Their
performance displayed the depth of Nigerian polo.

A record seventeen
fairly matched teams and enough rookies to confuse the most eagle eyed
pundit, have entered for the Audu Bako Cup rumble this year and all
their games would be decided at the foremost Race Course in Kano.

It could all remain
muddled up until the very last stages but aficionados have been tipping
Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Bauchi and Yola teams for their obvious
experience and mix of determination and horsepower. But that is not to
underestimate the anticipated vigorous challenge from Minna, Jos, Zaria
and Katsina.