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After bidding for
the Nigeria Premier League twice and losing out to rival, Globacom,
telecommunications firm, MTN Nigeria, on Thursday, won the rights to
sponsor the Nigeria Premier League for four seasons.

Details of the
agreement have yet to be made public, however, MTN is said to have made
a commitment to pay N2.6 billion over the next four years to the
league. The deal will come as a relief to beleaguered Chairman of the
league, Davidson Owumi, given that Rumson Baribote, former Chairman of
Bayelsa United is contesting the legality of the NPL elections that
threw up Owumi as chairman, in the courts.

The battles

The rivalry between
the two telecoms companies over sponsorship of the league started as
far back as 2006 when for the first time the league came up for
sponsorship. MTN were initially thought to have wrapped up the deal
with a sponsorship fee of N300m. That was not to be as Glo, reportedly
availing itself of contacts in the Presidency, won the bid with an
offer of N70 million. When the contract lapsed in 2008 under Oyuiki
Obaseki, a new deal brokered by MTN for N500m failed with Globacom
retaining sponsorship.

In January 2010,
former league boss, Obaseki, had led his team to Globacom to
re-negotiate the sponsorship. Globacom complained that having spent
millions in league sponsorship, they were not getting the desired
results. Therefore it was not a surprise when the 2010/11 season
arrived and Globacom pulled out of the sponsorship deal. The NPL again
threw its doors open for new sponsors. This time around, MTN, floored
twice by Globacom, decided not to show its hands openly electing to use
a front, an organisation known as Total Promotions to push its bid.
Total Promotions already does business with the league, having signed a
deal with the NPL over broadcast of league matches. After two days of
intense negotiations, news emerged that MTN had clinched the deal ahead
of its rival.

“It is a good one.
It shows that there is still potential for the league if MTN can do
business with the NPL,” said Emeka Nwani, Head of Media, NPL. “We are
assuring Nigerians that the money will be used judiciously for the
improvement of the league.” The NPL has debts of over N700 million as
part of recurrent expenditure as they are yet to be paid for last
season’s sponsorship. The former sponsors, Globacom, are reportedly
owing N923 million for the 2009/10 season.

Monkey business

While Nigerians
await a formal announcement of the new deal, there are indications that
the last may not have been heard of the matter. Globacom is not taking
the latest development lying down. An official of the organisation, who
asked not to be named, said “The last has not been heard of the matter.
The entire process has been less than satisfactory. We have a situation
where one company put it in a bid and then another organisation, which
did not formally enter the race, is said to have won the bid.” Attempts
to reach Shehu Gusau, the Chairman of the bid committee, to explain to
clarify whether the rules permit the use of fronts, proved
unsuccessful. Equally, efforts to contact Owumi were unsuccessful as
his mobile phone was switched off.

MTN also sponsors the Africa Cup of Nations and the CAF Champions League tournaments in Africa and the Zambia Premier League.

Nigeria’s only
surviving team at the ongoing 25th edition of the Africa Champions Cup
for men taking place in Cotonou, Benin Republic, Kano Pillars, say they
are looking beyond today’s quarter final clash with Cameroonian side,
Condor Basketball Club.

No Nigerian team
has ever played in the finals of the continent’s biggest club
championships. However, Kano Pillars, who are the champions from
Nigeria and also Zone 3 champions, hope to make history by first
winning today’s’ tie and making progress in the competition. Pillars
and Nigeria senior national team guard, Abubakar Usman, said the real
battle for the soul of the African title just began with the
quarter-final fixtures.

Team charge

Usman charged his
teammates to go all out against the Cameroonians who proved book-makers
wrong last Sunday to end the invincibility of the defending champion,
Primeiro de Agosto Basketball Club. He declined to comment on the
strength of their Cameroonian opponents, and is optimistic that Pillars
would be able to do the job of getting past them. He held that Pillars
always respect every opponent but would approach the game with all
seriousness from the jump-ball to the buzzer. “We are happy with the
quarter-finals pairing and the game will be treated with all
seriousness as we cannot afford to drop the game at this stage of the
competition, which is about the most important aspect of any
competition because the loser never get another opportunity to right
the wrongs committed,” he said. “Though we respect Condor like every
other team, especially when they are the only side to have defeated
Primeiro de Agosto in the last three years of the Africa Champions Cup,
that alone is enough morale booster for them but we shall do everything
possible to stop them on Friday. Our team is made up of tested players
who know what it takes to play a team like Condor and our bench knows
what to do at every given time as we match on to the African title.”

Fine run

Pillars were
invincible in the first round where they not only topped their group
but also maintained a hundred percent record a feat no other team
achieved. Condor beat another Nigerian side, Royal Hoopers Basketball
Club on Wednesday in both sides’ last Group-B game by 60-49 points.
Other quarter-finals pairings billed for today pitches Inter-Club
against AS Sale, while Manga play defending champion, Primeiro de
Agosto. ASB Mazembe will battle Maxaquene in the last quarter-final
pairing at.

After a less than
convincing performance against United at Old Trafford on Monday, the
Gunners will be boosted by the return of influential captain, Cesc
Fabregas, as they host Stoke City on Saturday.

Victory over Stoke
will see Arsenal get back to the top of the table, at least until
Sunday. There is an undercurrent of simmering tension in this tie with
Arsene Wenger accusing Stoke City players of being over the top in
their tackles on his players. Aaron Ramsey had his leg broken last
season by a Stoke player – Ryan Shawcross, who now captains the City
side. Wenger had criticised Stoke’s overtly physical approach when the
Gunners were beaten 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium in November, 2008. But
Stoke Chairman, Peter Coates, has come out to say that the Potters bear
no ill feeling towards Arsenal. Though Stoke City are still rankled
that Arsene Wenger has failed to apologise for again accusing Shawcross
of kicking Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes earlier this season. On the eve
of another tempestuous encounter at the Emirates, Coates has come out
to douse tensions that are apparently building up. “We like Arsenal
Football Club. I know the chairman well, he is a good man, there is no
problem with him,” he said on thisisstaffordshire.co.uk.

No ill feelings

Though Coates
admitted a running battle of words with Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger,
he said: “Yes, we have had a few little spats with Mr. Wenger, but that
is all water under the bridge. However, it would be nice for us to do
something against them at the Emirates. They are a good, strong team,
but you always hope we can give them a game. However, we will be up
against one of the top teams in Europe, so it is going to be tough.”
Stoke were on a high of an unbeaten run of five matches before
Blackpool came to the Brittania Stadium and left with the spoils last
weekend. But Tony Pulis has refined their play from the typical British
kick and rush style, and in Matthew Etherington and Kenwyne Jones, they
have fine ball players who can mix it with the best. And expect Stoke
to mirror the five-man midfield of Manchester United to water down the
crisp passing of the Gunners.

One of the Arsenal
players that has grossly disappointed this season is the Russian
captain, Andrei Arshavin, and he has come out to say that the players
and fans should get over the loss to United quickly and focus on their
remaining matches. “There is no time to be melancholy or sad,” he said.
“We need to forget this defeat and start thinking about the next match.
We need to prepare properly for each opponent. The championship is very
interesting this year and nothing has been lost yet.” Arshavin and his
coach, Wenger, will definitely have no complaints about the pitch at
the Emirates Stadium after blaming the Old Trafford pitch for the 1-0
defeat against United.

Hodgson faces former team

Liverpool FC were
lifeless in their Wednesday Europa Cup tie, but the three points at
stake are very important in this one. New Fulham boss, Mark Hughes,
knows that he is flirting with relegation and sack, but new Liverpool
boss, Roy Hodgson is fighting for more than that. Hodgson was labelled
as the ideal Liverpool coach when he was named in the summer, but in
four months, he is still struggling to get the respect of the Kop.
Liverpool will have all their big guns back for this one except Steven
Gerrard and Jaime Carragher.

The derby of Catalonia

There is nothing
like a local derby to negate present form. Though Barcelona have been
firing in the goals with relish in the past five league matches, a
match against their city rivals, Espanyol, will have to be treated
differently. The Nou Campers have scored 18 goals in their last five
matches without conceding any, including the hammering given to Real
Madrid. Right now, they look quite unstoppable but Espanyol are also on
a good run – standing fourth on the La Liga table. Lionel Messi has
been in scintillating form and has already got 17 goals in the league,
compared to just five goals by Pablo Daniel of Espanyol. But on
Saturday, at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, Barcelona will need a desire
for a win against their neighbours. In the last eight matches between
both sides, the best result for Barcelona has been a 2-1 victory in the
2008/09 season, but that match was played at the old ground, Estadi
Olímpic Lluís Companys, which hosted the 1992 Olympics. There may be a
lack of goals in this tie but there won’t be any lack of desire.

Nigerian forward,
Victor Anichebe, has denied reports that he rejected a £30,000 a week
deal with Everton, and insists he remains committed to the Premier
League club.

Reports in the
British media, last weekend, suggested that the Nigerian international,
who is in the final six months of his current contract, had rejected a
lucrative new deal to extend his stay at Everton. As a result of the
misleading reports, Anichebe found himself jeered by a section of the
Everton faithful when he came off the bench in last Saturday’s draw
against Wigan. Anichebe is in the dark as to where the rumours of his
contract negotiations came from and is keen to set the record straight
to the Everton fans. A number of clubs across Europe are thought to be
monitoring the Nigerian’s situation at Everton as, with the player
turning 23 in April, under FIFA regulations he could leave the Premier
League side for free when his contract expires at the end of June.

Quick resolution

However, Anichebe
is keen to stay at Everton and wants to resolve his contract wrangle at
Goodison Park. “Obviously, of course I want to stay at Everton,”
Anichebe told skysports.com. “I have been here since I was a boy and I
have grown up at the club. The whole situation over the weekend about
my contract was a bit crazy to be honest. I don’t know where it leaked
from that I supposedly turned down an offer of £30,000 a week. That is
not the case at all. I have not been offered anything like the figures
that have been bandied about in the press. I want the fans to know I
would never disrespect the club in any way or disrespect the fans. I am
happy at the club, happy with the players, happy with the manager and I
don’t have any problem with anyone at the club.”

Worst career experience

Regarding the jeers from sections of the Goodison faithful, Anichebe
admits he was upset to be singled out for abuse and conceded it was the
worst experience in his career. “I spoke to the manager the other day
and he didn’t understand where it came from either and he was shocked
by the reception I got when I came on against Wigan,” he said. “I was
quite shocked by the reaction from some fans, and to be honest it was
quite upsetting because of the fact I have come through the ranks and
the fans have always been so good to me throughout my time at the club.
It was probably the worst day I have had as a footballer the reception
I got and even the build-up to it. I understand that some of them will
believe what they read in the papers, but I want to reassure them I
would never disrespect the club or them in any way. I am like the fans,
I know what Everton means to them. It was hard what happened to me, but
I have great team-mates around me and Tim Cahill, Phil Neville and Phil
Jagielka have helped me a lot. The main thing for me is to train hard
and play as many games as possible as I have had two tough injuries
over the last 18 months and I just want to leave all the negotiations
with my advisers who deal with that side of things.”

Search and Groom
Youth for Development Centre, a Lagos-based NGO, has been mandated by
the organizers of the Homeless World Cup to select Nigeria’s team for
the next edition of the tournament billed for 2011 in France. Mel Young,

president of the
Homeless World Cup, in an official letter addressed to Yomi Kuku, the
executive director of Search and Groom, stated that: “The Homeless
World Cup is delighted to inform and confirm Search And Groom Youth for
Development Centre as the official organizer of the Nigerian National
Street Soccer Team and all surrounding selection activities for the
Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup.”

Mr. Young further
praised the global partnership saying: “Over 70 percent of players
experience a significant life change — they come off drugs, alcohol,
get jobs, homes, education, and training, and become football players,
coaches and social entrepreneurs. This radical and significant change
happens through collaboration with you, our partners based all over the
world. We wish you the greatest success on your journey to Paris.”

Nigeria has played
at the Homeless World Cup four times following her debut appearance at
the 2006 tournament in Cape Town, South Africa. Nigeria was also
present at the 2007 tournament in Copenhagen, Denmark; in Melbourne,
Australia in 2008, as well as at the 2009 edition which took place in
Milan, Italy where the country’s team went as far as the semi finals.

Forty-seven teams to attend

Next year’s
tournament will be the ninth edition of the Homeless World Cup, and it
will come up in the French capital city, Paris between August 21-28
with 47 countries, including Nigeria, expected. Teams heading to Paris
include last year’s winners Brazil, host France, Germany, England,
Sweden, Ghana, South Africa, India, Kenya, Cambodia and Indonesia, who
will be attending the event for the first time.

Over 500 players are
expected to converge on the Champs-de-Mars, in the shadow of the Eiffel
tower, for the week long tournament which uses football to energize
homeless people living in poverty, into changing their own lives.

During the tournament, the players will be demonstrating their football
skills in front of an estimated 50,000 strong crowd on specially
designed pitches at one of France’s most iconic landmarks. The Paris
2011 Homeless World Cup is supported nationally by Collectif ‘Remise en
Jeu’, and Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal Football Club, who is
President of the Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup Local Organising
Committee.

He joins former international professional footballers
Emmanuel Petit and Lilian Thuram, as ambassadors of the Paris 2011
Homeless World Cup. The Homeless World Cup promotes social integration
through football and creates fresh, inventive solutions to end
homelessness and poverty worldwide.

Grassroots Soccer
Developers Association of Nigeria (GRASSDON) has vowed to bank on the
success of the fourth C. Woermann Youth Football Championship to extend
participation to clubs in other parts of the country. Speaking at a
meeting after the last championship which ended two weeks ago, Axel
Kuppe, managing director of C. Woermann Nigeria Ltd, sponsor of the
tournament, said that plans were underway to make it a national
championship where teams will be selected from across the six
geo-political zones of the country.

“Having come this
far, I have seen that this tournament, which we started as part of our
corporate social responsibility has turned to be breeding ground for
talents,” he said. “We will look at making it a national championship.”

Ossy Nwokeabia,
national coordinator of GRASSDON and chairman, Collin Edwin Global
Sports Limited, said that the body is poised to do all it can to
develop football in the grassroots as it is the bedrock of sports
development.

“Our body is a body
that has been in the grassroots for some time,” he said. “We understand
what it takes to go down to the grassroots which has suffered neglect
over the years; now we are giving the grassroots a voice. We will ride
on the crest of the successful staging of this championship, which has
been our flagship for over four years.”

Looking inwards

He further went on
to advocate the integration of grassroots into mainstream football so
that there would be a reduction in the exodus of players.

“Ugonna Anyaora who
won MVP last year now plays for FK Hungsund in the Norwegian top
flight, so you see why the grassroots should be integrated into the
mainstream of sports in the country,” he said.

The national
president of the group, Anne Chiejine, implored the Nigeria Football
Federation to look to the grassroots in their efforts to rebuild the
country’s various national teams.

The former Super Falcons player believes there is a wealth of talent at that level.

“I am involved
because I believe in this cause,” she said. “I was discovered at the
grassroots before I played for the Super Falcons so why can’t we
discover other talent?”

The just-concluded C. Woerman Youth Football Championship saw C.
Woermann from Enugu successfully defend their title with a lone goal
victory over BIG FC of Port Harcourt, while Wincor Nixdorf took third
place after a 4-2 win via penalty over Masalta FC of Sokoto State.

Hopes of getting a
title sponsor for the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) could be fulfilled
today as a newly inaugurated bid committee prepares to hold talks with
companies interested in sponsoring the nation’s elite football division.

The bid committee
which was yesterday inaugurated by the League chairman Davidson Owumi,
is headed by his vice chairman, Shehu Gusau. Other members include Joe
Amene, Adebayo Wopa, Kweku Tandon,

Nelson Ine, Isaac Danladi and the NPL’s head of marketing, Gabriel Egwu who will act as the committee’s secretary.

The Nigerian
Premier League, which enters the seventh week this weekend, has been
without a title sponsor since telecommunications outfit Globacom pulled
out midway through the 2009/2010 season; a situation that has starved
the board of crucial funds required to properly run the league.

Meanwhile, as NPL
officials remain confident that a deal will be sealed very soon, some
observers have fingered the ongoing leadership tussle between Davidson
Owumi and Rumsey Baribote as a possible clog in the wheel of the latest
sponsorship drive.

It would be
recalled that Coca-Cola recently terminated its contract with the
Nigeria Football Federation, citing the crisis as a major reason for
pulling out as it was hurting their brand name.

Coca-Cola’s contract with the NFF to sponsor the national teams was worth N100 million annually, and was due to run until 2014.

Reports suggest that former sponsors of the league, Globacom are also in the race to bank roll the league again.

Globacom pioneered
the mega-million naira sponsorship of the Nigerian league. Its deal
with the NPL, worth over nine hundred million naira, is the highest
ever by any individual organization in the history of Nigerian sports.

However, the
relationship between the telecommunication company and the NPL went
sour thus leading to Glo pulling out last season.

In a related development, the NPL chairman, Owumi, has assured the companies bidding of fair treatment from the bid committee.

He also disclosed
that corporate outfits that have already indicated their intention to
land the Nigeria Premier League title sponsorship have backed their
intent with a non-refundable deposit of one million naira.

“About two organisations have shown interest in sponsoring the
League,” said Owumi. “They have paid one million naira each as intent
fee.”

Action
in the Nigerian Premier League (NPL) continues today with six matches
on the cards, top of which is the encounter in Kano between 2009
champions Kano Pillars and league defending champions Enyimba.

The game has all the trappings of a cup final and is expected to be witnessed by a capacity crowd at the Sani Abacha Stadium.

“We have put behind
us the result of last weekend’s game and looking ahead to the game
against Enyimba,” said Kano Pillars coach, Salisu Yusuf whose side
suffered a 2-0 loss away to Crown in Ilaro last weekend.

“We were
unfortunate to concede those goals but we have used the past few days
to correct our errors and I expect a good performance on Sunday.”

Both Pillars and Enyimba have been far from impressive this term.

Enyimba, in
particular, have been poor on the road losing to Sunshine Stars and
handing newly promoted Bukola Babes their first ever win in the
Nigerian top flight division.

“Enyimba have good
players but I don’t think they have found their rhythm yet,” continued
Yusuf. “It is the same thing with us; we haven’t yet hit the level we
know we are capable of and that is what we will be aiming to do on
Sunday.

“It will be a good
match and as usual, I expect the stadium to be filled to capacity which
is why we have to give the fans a win,” added the former Nigeria
international.

Sunshine poised to shine against Gombe

A capacity crowd
may not be in Ijebu Ode to witness the game between Sunshine Stars and
Gombe United, but the game also looks set to be very interesting.

Both Sunshine and
Gombe, prior to yesterday’s round of matches, respectively occupied the
5th and 2nd spots on the league table but know a win today will
catapult them to the top of the table.

Gombe, in
particular will feel confident of coming away from the encounter with
at least a draw basically because Sunshine have, since the start of the
season, been prosecuting their home matches away from their traditional
Akure Township Stadium home ground which failed to meet the standards
set by the league organisers, the Nigeria Premier League (NPL).

But Sunshine have
been anything but easy meat for visiting sides at the Gateway
International Stadium as exemplified by their impressive wins over
Enyimba (2-1) and Rangers (2-0).

“A lot of these
teams thought that we would be easy meat for them especially since we
are playing our games at Ijebu Ode,” Mike Idoko, the executive director
of the Ondo State Football Agency, the parent body of the club, said.

“But Ijebu Ode fans have easily taken to us because of our brand of football.

“We have beaten two
of the biggest clubs in Nigeria here in Ijebu Ode and we feel very much
at home here.” Gombe look set to go the same path as Rangers and
Enyimba as they have been inconsistent on the road with all their wins
so far this season all coming at home.

A fortnight ago,
they lost 3-0 to Dolphins in Port Harcourt for their first defeat of
the campaign, with all three goals arriving in the second half.

And if they fail to
get their acts together today, they just might be in for a sound
beating at least that is what Idoko hopes Sunshine players will do
today.

“We are going to
beat Gombe, hopefully it will be a big win with a couple of goals,”
continued the former Warri Wolves manager. “We are not going to
underestimate them but Gombe are small boys compared to teams like
Enyimba and Rangers that we have already beaten.”

Part of Idoko’s
optimism stems from the fact that Sunshine are one of the few sides in
the league to have completely paid off the balance of sign-on fees owed
to players from last season’s campaign. They even went to the extent of
paying the money owed some of the players from two seasons back by the
erstwhile management of the club.

“We have paid up
what was owed them from 2008 up to last season,” he said. “We are now
on the verge of paying the players 50 per cent of their sign-on fees
for this season and these are part of the reasons why they have been
playing their hearts out for the club.”

In other games
scheduled for today, Zamfara United will be at home to Sharks, while
Ocean Boys will welcome Niger Tornadoes to Yenegoa’s Samson Siasia
Stadium.

Lobi Stars, who last weekend lost 2-1 to Warri Wolves, will be up
against Kaduna United while Heartland will take on Crown at the Dan
Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.

What
does Vincent Enyeama need to do to get to fulfil his dream of playing
in a league befitting of a goalkeeper of his quality? That is one
question fans of the Hapoel Tel Aviv of Israel shot stopper have been
asking. Enyeama is currently regarded by many as the best goalkeeper in
Africa, and to a larger extent one of the top goalies in the world.

However, supporters
of the Israeli side do not fall into the category of fans hoping the
28-year-old will make a switch to one of Europe’s top leagues. This is
because Hapoel Tel Aviv fans have come to view the 28-year-old as a
messiah of sorts following his consistent displays in goal since
arriving from another Israeli league side, Bnei Yehuda in 2007.

The Israeli top
flight division is leagues behind the likes of the English Premier
League, the Spanish Primera Liga, the Italian Serie A, the German
Bundesliga and the French Championat.

It is not even in
the same class as the Dutch Eredivisie or the Portuguese Primeira Liga,
but this season has seen Hapoel Tel Aviv hold their own against some of
Europe’s best club sides in the biggest club tournament in the world –
the UEFA Champions League.

European sojourn

The Israeli side
may have failed to advance beyond the group stage of this seasons
Champions League, but there is no confusion about who played a major
role in getting Hapoel so close to upsetting the applecart in a group
where they were tipped from the outset to be the whipping boys.

Not even the most
patriotic of Israeli football analysts gave Hapoel a chance of
advancing from their Champions League Group B where they had for
company Germany’s Schalke 04, serial Champions League campaigners,
Olympique Lyonnais, and former European champions Benfica of Portugal.

To these analysts,
it was therefore not surprising that Hapoel lost their first three
games. Defeats to Benfica (2-0) and Lyon (3-1) in September was
followed by a 3-1 loss to Schalke 04.

The margin of
defeat would have been much greater had the Nigerian shot stopper not
been in top form for the Israeli champions. Enyeama was also scored the
lone goal for Hapoel in the Lyon game, by converting a penalty in the
79th minute.

By the time they
played out a goalless draw with Schalke 04 in the reverse tie at the
start of November, Hapoel no longer had a chance of advancing to the
knockout rounds of the Champions League.

But the Europa
League spot reserved for the group’s third-place finisher was still up
for grabs and it became a straight race between them and Benfica after
they mauled the Portuguese side 3-0 in Tel Aviv on November 24.

It then came to the
wire on Tuesday when they visited the Stade de Gerland in France in
search of a win over Lyon that would take them to the Europa League,
but only if Benfica failed to win at home against Schalke 04.

In the end, Benfica
lost 2-1 to the Germans but a last gasp equaliser by Alexandre
Lacazette denied Hapoel an stunning result as the game ended 2-2.

A stunning bicycle
kick by Eran Zehavi in the 69th minute – a goal that will definitely be
in contention for the goal of the tournament – had given Hapoel a 2-1
lead at the Stade de Gerland. Lacazette’s equaliser did not only deny
Hapoel victory, it also denied them a chance to leapfrog Benfica into
third position in the standings.

Nevertheless,
Hapoel ended its European campaign with an extremely impressive
performance, becoming the first Israeli side to avoid defeat away from
home in the competition since Maccabi Haifa drew 3-3 at Greek side
Olympiakos back in the 2002/2003 tournament.

The star of Tel Aviv

At the end of their UEFA campaign, it was clear to many who watched the game who the star of the game was Enyeama.

“He was quite
outstanding,” said former Super Eagles goalkeeper and skipper Alloy
Agu. “He displayed why he is one of the top goalkeepers around, but
that is not the first time he would be doing such as he did much more
for Nigeria at the World Cup.”

Enyeama emerged as
one of the stars of the last World Cup in South Africa and almost
single-handedly limited Argentina to just a lone goal victory in a
match that saw him foiling Lionel Messi time and again.

But despite being linked with a host of club sides both during and after the World Cup, Enyeama returned to club duty in Israel.

“I was surprised no one came for him,” continued Agu, who was the Super Eagles’ goalkeepers’ trainer in South Africa.

“I was so confident
after all he did at the World Cup that he was going to join a team in
Europe but in the end nothing happened.”

Hapoel not willing to let go

Not that there
weren’t offers for the services of the former Enyimba skipper, as clubs
from England, Spain and Portugal were keen on taking him away from
Israel, but Hapoel appeared not willing to let go of their prized
Nigerian.

A case in point was
the approach made by former European champions, Porto right after the
World Cup. Even though Enyeama knew about the offer, Hapoel said that
they were not officially informed by the Portuguese club of such an
offer.

The situation
infuriated Enyeama and he told Israeli news portal Walla.com: “Porto
wants me and if Hapoel claims that there is no offer for me, they are
lying”.

Agu is not as mad at the club.

“If I were in his
club management’s shoes I think I would do likewise,” he said. “No team
likes to lose their best players especially when it concerns a big
competition such as the Champions League.

“But now that they are out of Europe they will probably allow him to move on.”

Agu, who besides playing for clubs in Nigeria also played for teams in Turkey and Holland, isn’t alone in this regards.

Another former Nigerian goalkeeper, Emmanuel Okala, said Enyeama could be on the move as early as the January transfer window.

“He was very good
in that match (against Lyon),” said Okala. “He single-handedly
prevented their opponents from winning that match.

“And with that kind of performance, along with his performance in other matches, I see him leaving Israel as early as January.”

But why hasn’t a team from one of the top leagues grabbed Enyeama long before now?

“I think a lot of
factors come into play,” Okala said. “There is no doubt about how good
he is but he may not have a good agent who can convince other clubs to
come in for him in January.”

January move vs free transfer

Enyeama’s contract
runs out at the end of the season and there are those who feel a
January move will not likely materialise for the goalkeeper.

“His contract, I
think runs out at the end of the season, so unless he signs a new deal
between now and then, he will leave on a free transfer,” said football
agent Vincent Alumona.

“A lot of clubs may
be interested in him but not many of them will be ready to dole out a
fee for a player they can get for free at the end of the season.

“Also, don’t forget
that he is an African and not an EU national so he will be coming in as
a foreigner. And you know in some leagues, they have a limited quota
for foreigners.

“But in a situation
like this, looking at it from the business angle, he stands to make
more financially if he moves on a free transfer,” he added.

Enyeama has some of
the best reflexes in today’s football and his easy-going nature easily
endears him to teammates. Between the goalposts, he is calm and
commanding despite his 5 feet, 11 inches frame.

But regardless of whether he moves in January or not, one thing is
certain, he will leave a lot of Hapoel fans downcast by the end of the
season.

My opener this week
is a conclusive headline that those grey-haired clowns at FIFA have
done it again. England with the best commercial and technical
presentations for the hosting of World Cup 2018 lost out to Russia in
what was an amazing climax to an exercise that ordinarily should not
end in controversy.

FIFA, a cesspool of
corruption, did not need the London Sunday Times’ reproachful reportage
to wave its devilish wand once again and thrust on the world another
bewildering pronouncement given its questionable and crooked agenda.

Some critics have
blamed the expose’ of cash-for-vote journalism of reporters of the
London Sunday Times for England’s loss; that piece of journalistic
‘over-adventurism’ cost England £15 million – the bidding cost and a
potentially humongous money making event in the shape of hosting the
World Cup in 2018.

Opinions are always
going to be divided on issues like this, but a global organisation like
FIFA ought to show respect for peoples’ time and resources by setting
out clear and unambiguous parameters that will aid potential bidders in
reaching weighted decisions, whether it is to participate in bid
sessions or not. It’s all so tacky and vexatious when FIFA conjures new
and sometimes outlandish reasons as considerations for imperilling the
interest of hot hosting favourites now and again.

Suspicion of arm-twisting

This bid that went
to Russia raises a suspicion of espirt de corps on the part of FIFA
Executive Committee determined to punish England whose reporters blew
the lid on the cash-for-vote imbroglio in the first place. A suspicion
of arm-twisting by Russia cannot be dismissed completely, given the
Secret Service credentials of Russian leader Vladimir Putin considering
the many skeletons in FIFA’s closet.

FIFA needs to
follow IOC’s example. Quite frankly, there is nothing wrong in
spreading the World Cup hosting rights. What is troubling is the modus
operandi of the world football ruling body. Too many of its actions and
pronouncements raise questions that even their biggest admirers cringe
at.

Meddling in Nigerian football

It is hoped that
FIFA will at some point shape up and improve its image the way the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) has done after the Salt Lake
scandal in order to restore some confidence in the body.

This takes me
directly to the fact that FIFA’s interference in Nigeria’s football in
the last three years as well as it’s annoying pronouncements has almost
left our football prostrate.

I know for certain,
even if proof of such things are a bit difficult, that visiting FIFA
officials have left here happy since 1995 the way policemen do at
roadblocks. This has been the case since Nigeria made her first
attempts to host an age-grade World Championship. One day FIFA
Vice-President Jack Warner almost cursing says Nigeria cannot possibly
be ready to host a football event and that his organisation will put
this or that country on standby.

Next visit, Warner
literarily climbed the rooftops to hail Nigeria for having performed
another world “wonder”! The initiated know what has passed and what
cultivated a great “apostle” for Nigeria in Jack Warner. Host we must,
he declared.

Leaving it at that
would just have been fine but FIFA has moved into who runs Nigeria’s
football and how it is run contrary to its non-interference standpoint.

FIFA’s interference in 2007

I will spare the
details but it will suffice to say that since 2007, FIFA has made
itself both umpire and judge. Its General Secretary, Urs Linsi,
literally moved his secretariat to the Ibro Hotel, Abuja to personally
conduct the removal of the Ibrahim Galadima-led NFA board and install
Sani Lulu as Chairman, using all the instrumentality and paraphernalia
of the Nigerian government. The NSC was under the Chairmanship of Bala
Kaoje, the Minister of Sport was the launch pad. Since then, Nigeria’s
football has remained permanently engaged in reverse and has been
suffocated by crises and intrigues. At that time government was not
interfering in football but it was Kaoje, Minister of Sports at the
time who not only declared NFA Congress open but practically pulled
down the Galadima Board with the active connivance of FIFA using Linsi.

Lulu’s Board’s,
superintended by a top FIFA official, went all the way to doctor NFA’s
statutes in a direct violation of all procedural rules since FIFA was
behind it.

Before now, the
same FIFA had granted tenure elongation to Ibrahim Galadima’s Board, an
occurrence which aggrieved stakeholders, who were then used as a weapon
against the hapless Galadima and his Board. There was interference and
FIFA had no reference precedent for that I must state here.

I have decided to
save the gory details of intrigues and horse trading, which
characterised the conduct of the 2007 NFA election that brought a
wasteful and retrogressive Sani Lulu to lead our football. With the
active connivance of a corrupt and spineless FIFA who threatened bans,
whenever they perceived an assault on their interests, that is when
Government interference comes up.

FIFA aided the
plundering, wastage of government – nay tax payers’ – money for a
needless exercise; an election into the NFA having already taken place
in Kano.

A report was duly
submitted and accepted by FIFA through Jerome Champagne that Ibrahim
Galadima was duly elected Chairman of the NFA. This was pure
interference contrary to the spirit and letters of non-interference by
third parties preached by FIFA, a body that is itself a meddlesome
interloper.

Till next week then.