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The
scandals unveiled by London’s Sunday Times and the Panorama, broadcast
on BBC on Monday, cost England as it was beaten to the 2018 World Cup
bid by Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

It was supposed to
be a return to the “motherland of football” as Joseph Blatter, FIFA
President, said on the podium moments before the envelope of the
winning bid was passed to him. When the winning bid was announced,
there were about eight Russians in the hall with the others in apparent
shock. Russia won against all expectations but it could have been swung
in their favour by the words of Putin, Russia’s President, who on
Wednesday criticised England over the FIFA exposes. “I would like to
note that recently we have watched with disappointment as an obvious
campaign was being unleashed against members of the FIFA executive
committee,” he said. “They are being smeared in dirt and compromised. I
consider it as part of unscrupulous bit of competition in preparations
for the selection of the host-country for the World Cup.”

The politics of the 2018 bid

England was said to
have had the best technical bid but Russia trumped all the stats by
promising to inject over $10 billion to host the world. Russia will
also be hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Spain/Portugal bid
President, Angel Villar Llona, in his presentation on Thursday said: “I
love FIFA dearly but those I love the most are my colleagues in the
Exco. Recently we have been criticised by many media outlets.
Unfortunately for them, FIFA is a clean institution.” The defeat will
be made more unpalatable as the England bid had been described by
Blatter as being both excellent and remarkable. But it was not
remarkable enough to be chosen. In revelations after FIFA’s members had
voted in a secret ballot, it emerged that England did not make it to
the second ballot.

Last minute
attempts by Prime Minister, David Cameron, Prince William and David
Beckham to persuade the football’s world governing body executive
members came too late to douse the embarrassments suffered by these
members by the revelations of the BBC and London Times. Amos Adamu and
Reynald Temarii, the two FIFA executive members named in cash-for vote
scandal, had been suspended and fined some sums of money following the
revelations by the London Times that both members were ready to sell
their bidding votes to the highest bidders. There will be
recriminations from the British press but many observers feel that
England shot itself in the foot by being “undiplomatic.”

Qatar trumps the USA

Qatar became the
smallest country to be awarded the hosting rights of a FIFA World Cup
by snagging the 2022 World Cup. The Qatar bid committee used French
football legend, Zinedine Zidane, as a goodwill ambassador and said in
their presentation that the World Cup project of hosting the world in
2022 could help unify the region. There was also the promise to
overcome overwhelming heat by air conditioning the stadia it will
build. Sheikh Mohammad bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s bid chairman,
sounding all exultant after the pronouncement said: “Thank you for
believing in change, thank you for believing in expanding the game,
thank you for giving Qatar a chance. We will not let you down. You will
be proud of us, you will be proud of the Middle East and I promise you
this.”

And in what could
be a final word to the backlash that will definitely come forth after
the England snub, Llona had this to say, “You have already heard enough
slander in the media, the bidding process is clean regardless of what
they say.” The world will converge in Russia in 2018. And as the
Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov, was handed the World Cup
by Blatter, he celebrated by saying: “You have entrusted us with the
FIFA World Cup for 2018 and I can promise, we all can promise, you will
never regret it. Let us make history together.”

History will definitely be in the making as the Eastern European
giants host the greatest single sport fiesta in the world while Qatar’s
1.7 million people prepare to welcome the world in 2022.

New coach of the
Nigerian national football team, Samson Siasia will today sign his
contract with the Nigeria Football federation (NFF).

The event which will take place at the Glass House secretariat of the NFF in Abuja is scheduled to commence around 12 noon.

The unveiling of
the 43-year-old former Super Eagles striker, who emerged as the
national team’s new coach ahead of former Mali and Togo coach Stephen
Keshi, had earlier been scheduled for November 8 but was postponed
because of a nationwide strike by the country’s labour unions.

The contract
signing and unveiling was further delayed by the absence of the NFF
President, Aminu Maigari. Maigari, only returned to the country at the
weekend after having a successful surgery in South Africa.

Unveiling comes up tomorrow

After signing the
contract today, Siasia will be unveiled tomorrow, also at the NFF
secretariat. This was disclosed by the Deji Tinubu, head of the NFF’s
marketing committee.

“The signing
ceremony will be done on Tuesday (today) in Abuja while the unveiling
to the general public will come up on Wednesday,” said Tinubu, a former
member of the Lagos State FA.

“Everything has
been put in place for a successful ceremony and the only thing that can
stop this from happening is if there is another nationwide strike,”
added Tinubu.

At today’s
ceremony, Siasia is expected to sign a four-year contract with the NFF,
which is expected to last until the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

His primary
assignment is however to ensure that the Super Eagles secure a berth to
the 2012 African Cup of Nations to be co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea
and Gabon.

The Super Eagles are currently in second place behind Guinea in the
qualification race for the Cup of Nations, but they have four more
games to go and are expected to beat their west African rivals to the
group’s only automatic qualification spot to the tournament.

After being
walloped 8-0 in a recent friendly match with world champions, Germany,
the Super Falcons have been handed another opportunity to redeem their
battered image. The Falcons have been drawn in the same group with
Germany for next’ year’s World Cup, which runs through June 26-July 27
2011 in four cities in Germany.

Drawn in Group A, the Falcons will also have a date with Canada and France in the group phase of the female Mundial.

The defeat to
Germany is the worst to be inflicted upon the Super Falcons by any side
since their equally embarrassing 8-0 defeat to Norway at the 1995 FIFA
Women’s World Cup held in Sweden.

The Super Falcons
who recently regained their African title in South Africa after
defeating Equatorial Guinea 4-2 in the finals have been to every female
World Cup.

A key member of
the Falcons’ team, Perpetua Nkwocha who was the highest goal scorer in
South Africa says the team will put behind them the past experiences
that led to unimpressive outings at the World and concentrate on doing
well in Germany.

“I think there are
a number of factors that have contributed to that. Some will say we
have underachieved there, I wouldn’t agree with that entirely. What is
important is for us to forget about what happened in the past and
concentrate on the upcoming World Cup”.

The other African representative, Equatorial Guinea, was grouped alongside Brazil, Australia Norway and England.

Early preparation

Falcons coach,
Eucharia Uche said though she would not promise a World Cup trophy she
will do all that is possible to make Nigerians proud.

She said for the team to perform creditable at the World Cup, early preparation is key.

“I would want this team to begin adequate preparation as early as January 2011.

We should start preparation because the World Cup starts in June,”
she said. “[The] World Cup like you know is bigger than AWC (African
Women Championship). It is a bigger tournament and we intend to do
well. That is why we must take preparation seriously. And I also intend
to extend invitation to some of our foreign players who could not make
it to AWC because of one problem or the other, to beef up the team with
more experienced players to fill the loopholes we discovered”.

Dolphins last
weekend returned to winning ways and to the summit of the Premier
League standings after drubbing Gombe United 3-0 at Port Harcourt’s
Liberation Stadium.

The game, which
came up exactly a week after Dolphins’ controversial lone goal loss to
Sharks in the Port Harcourt derby, was goalless until the 55th minute
when junior international Abduljeleel shot the home side into the lead.

Gombe United
attempted a comeback but two penalty kicks converted by Dolphins’
captain Emma Godwin and Uche Oguchi put paid to their unbeaten start to
the 2010/2011 season. The loss also saw them fall to seventh spot on
the league table with seven points.

On the flip side,
Stanley Eguma led Dolphins rose to the top of the standings replacing
Shooting Stars who went down by a lone goal to Kano Pillars at the Sani
Abacha Stadium, also on Saturday.

It was the first
loss of the season for the Ibadan-based Shooting Stars – a game Kano
Pillars would have won by a more comfortable margin but for the
goalkeeping heroics of former Nigeria U-17 international Laide
Okanlawon who however failed to stop Joseph Thompson’s 28th minute
match winner.

Though the win
elevated Kano Pillars to 5th position on the table with seven points,
they remain one spot below Shooting Stars who also have seven
points.Kaduna, JUTH lose

Another team on
seven points after four rounds of matches is 6th placed Heartland who
ended Kaduna United’s unbeaten start to the campaign with a spirited
2-1 win at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri courtesy of two goals in the
final ten minutes of the game. Osas Okoro and Ikechukwu Ibenegbu
provided the goals after Siman Yusuf had shot the visitors into the
lead in the 64th minute.

Saturday also saw
newly promoted JUTH recording their first loss of the season when they
came up against unbeaten Warri Wolves at Jos’ Rwang Pam Stadium thanks
to a goal on the half-hour mark by Onyekachi Nelson.

Bukola Babes
continued Enyimba’s miserable campaign when they grabbed a historic
first ever Premier League win all thanks to Audu Akeem’s 76th minute
goal.

With the goal, Akeem became the first Bukola Babes player to score a goal in the Nigerian top flight division.

Sunday matches

The main attraction
of the day was the game in Ijebu-Ode between Sunshine Stars and Enugu
Rangers, and it was the home side who got the better of the visitors
with a 2-0 win courtesy of a goal in each half by Ukeyima Akombo and
Ifeanyi Inyam respectively. The result saw the Gbenga Ogunbote
managed-side rise to second spot behind Dolphins who lead by virtue of
their superior goal difference.

Sunday also saw Sharks stretch their unbeaten start to the season to
four games with a 1-1 draw against Ocean Boys at the Samson Siasia
Stadium, Yenegoa. But the best viewing, as far as goals scoring was
concerned, was in Kano where Zamfara United came from two goals down to
win 3-2 at the expense of Plateau United, who remained rooted to the
bottom of the 20-team Premier League table.

Following yesterday’s round of matches in the Premier League,
action resumes today with five matches on the cards, top of which is the visit
of Enugu Rangers to the Gateway international Stadium, Ijebu-Ode where they
will be taking on Sunshine Stars.

This fixture should have taken place in Akure but owing to the
failure of Sunshine Stars to develop their home ground in the Ondo state capital
to the minimum standard required by the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), the
league body had no option but to order them to relocate to a different venue.

If league watchers feel Sunshine would as a result of being far
away from their traditional home ground fall home-sick, they stand to be proved
wrong because in their very first game in Ijebu-Ode, Sunshine defeated
defending champions Enyimba 2-1.

And if anyone thought their win over the People’s Elephants was
a total flash in the pan, the side handled by Gbenga Ogunbote only last weekend
went to the Rwang Pam Stadium in Jos to pip Plateau United 1-0, courtesy of
Ukeyima Akombo’s second half stoppage time winner, to completely turn around
their fortunes in a matter of two weeks after the 2-1 loss inflicted on them at
the start of the season by Shooting Stars.

They now have a chance to further climb up the table as they
confront Rangers today in their adopted home ground.

“I have totally forgotten about that game,” said Ogunbote,
recalling the loss to Shooting Stars that is more remembered for the unfriendly
gestures made towards him by the Ibadan side’s Gbolahan Salami. “One can’t
continue to live in the past. That was one match we should have come out with
at least a point but I’m glad with the way the boys reacted against Enyimba and
Plateau United. They were all tough matches and we now have another one against
Rangers who have also been doing very well,” added Ogunbote.

Lethal attack, leaky
defence

Rangers, heading into this weekend’s round of matches, had
scored more goals than any other side in the league (eight goals) and boasts of
two of the leading stars of the young season, Fred Okwara and Ejike Uzoenyi who
between them have grabbed five of the Enugu side’s eight goals to date.

Although the side managed by Alphonsus Dike have suffered a loss
in the only away game they have played this season – 1-0 loss to Dolphins –
they have been ruthless at their Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium home ground where only
last weekend, they recorded the highest scoring game of the young season in a
5-2 drubbing of Ocean Boys.

“We have been scoring goals, which is good, but we have also
been conceding a lot and we have been working to change that,” Rangers’ coach
Alphonsus Dike told NEXT. “The boys are confident of scoring against any team
but we have to find a way of maintaining defensive discipline so that we don’t
let in easy goals.” One player who has performed creditably well for Sunshine
Stars this season has been Cletus Itodo, who can be found sitting in front of
the backline in the holding midfield role. But he looks set to have his hands
full against a Rangers side filled to the brim with explosive players like John
Nnam, Uche Nwafor and Charles Taylor, not forgetting the quick footed duo of
Okwara and Uzoenyi.

“That is something we have tried to capitalize on this season,”
continued Dike regarding the speed of his forward line. “Football is becoming
fast-paced these days and having players who can think well ahead when they are
without the ball has its advantages.” He then added: “Hopefully those
advantages will work for us on Sunday.”

Cooreman comes to Owerri

One team that will also be eager to make its own advantage count
today will be Heartland who will want to make best use of the chance of playing
at the Dan Anyiam Stadium when they take on visiting Kaduna United.

Heartland have not had the best of starts to this season’s
campaign and only last weekend threw away a two-goal lead against Warri Wolves.
But they face a Kaduna side that is yet to taste defeat this season and who
have a coach, Maurice Cooreman, that just wants to keep it that way.

“Heartland is one of the strongest football teams we have in
this country. We are training hard in making sure that we not only play well
when we visit them this weekend,

but we want to come back home with the maximum points,” Cooreman
told Naijaligue.blogspot.com.

67-year-old Cooreman, who has won league titles in the past with
Ocean Boys and Enyimba will however have to be wary of Heartland’s Bello
Kofarmata and Osas Okoro, who have the abilities to wreck havoc on any side
when on song.

In other matches today, Zamfara United will be at home to
Plateau United, Lobi Stars will host Niger Tornadoes, and bottom of the table
Ocean Boys will welcome Sharks to Yenegoa.

Football academies are charged with identifying and training
budding talents for future use in football clubs and national teams. These
academies nurture and groom promising footballers until they are mature for
maximum exposure in professional clubs.

For those that evolved the strategy, their guiding principle is,
perhaps, in line with the popular axiom that says “stars are not just born but
they are also made”.

FIFA, the world football governing body, apparently shares the
vision, as it has consistently been promoting the formation of youth academies,
so as to identify talented footballers early in life and nurture them for
future stardom.

On February 1, 2009, FIFA, in an apparent move to protect the
age-group teams, particularly those with players below the age of 18 years,
decided that there would be an additional need for FIFA’s approval to achieve
successful transfers.

In essence, the new rule is aimed at establishing the consent of
the players, their parents and national football federations in such transfers
and FIFA says that the regulation applies to all its 208 affiliate nations.

FIFA also initiated age-group competitions to sharpen the focus
of these young talents, while gauging their performances.

In1985, FIFA created the JVC U-16 World Youth Championship,
which was eventually upgraded to become the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Since then, the world Football body had initiated other global
age-group tournaments such as the U-21 World Cup and the Olympic Football event
for under 23s.

The Nigerian youth
revolution

Nigeria won the maiden edition of the JVC Cup in China in 1985,
while she also won the upgraded FIFA U-17 in 1993 in Japan. The country later
won the 2007 edition of the tournament in South Korea.

Many Nigerian stars like Wilson Oruma, Nduka Ugbade, Victor
Igbinoba, Nwankwo Kanu,

Victor Ikpeba, Tijani Babangida, Austin Okocha, Celestine
Babayaro and Emmanuel Babayaro were products of these age-group competitions.

The star players were recruited by top European clubs; where
they developed their skills and became celebrities. Nigeria proved that she had
become a force to be reckoned with in football at the 1996 Atlanta Games by
winning the Olympic football event.

Argentina fought back at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing to
keep Nigeria in check with a lone goal to clinch the Olympic gold. Other
African countries like Ghana, Cameroon and Gambia have also performed well in
global age-group Football tournaments.

Since then, many academies have sprung up in some African
countries, including Nigeria,

to produce young talents but observers note that their
operations have been fraught with some inherent problems that have limited
their growth.

Football pundits note that many of the academies have not been
affiliated to clubs, while their products have been unable to play for local or
foreign clubs. They also observe that the standard of the academies was far
below the standard of those in Europe; which strive to achieve a healthy mix of
football training and academic work.

It was perhaps, the need to bridge this yawning gap that
compelled Governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki to team up with Kojo Williams,
a former Chairman of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), to establish a
Football academy known as the Ilorin School of Football Excellence.

The academy was patterned after European Football academies but
Saraki and Williams parted ways, shortly before the inauguration of the
academy. Even Clemence Westahof, a former Technical Adviser to the Super
Eagles, engaged as the academy’s Director, also left after some
misunderstanding.

The question, therefore, is: What are the missing links
responsible for the problems of Football academies in Africa?

A recent tour of the German league, ‘Bundesliga’, revealed that
the German model of football academies has some elements that are glaringly
deficient in African academies.

Kay Oliver-Lagendoff, Press Officer of the Deutsche Fusball Liga
(DFL), the Bundesliga, said that the setting up of academies in Germany was
part of the conditions specified by all 36 clubs that founded the Bundesliga in
2001.

“It is an integral part of the Bundesliga licensing package that
all clubs should have academies.

“After Germany failed at Italia ‘90′ and in some other
competitions, it dawned on us that something should be done to re-build our
national teams,” Oliver-Lagendoff said, adding: “There is also the need to
rekindle the interest of youths in organised Football.” Oliver-Lagendoff said
that the academies were also meant to serve as a reservoir of players for
German clubs. “It is also part of the strategy to reduce the clubs’
over-dependence on foreign players.

The process also aims at raising national teams that comprise
appreciable number of youths, who were hitherto derailing and needed to be
refocused,” he said.

He also said that with the right marketing mix, there was a
strong desire to fill stadiums with well-groomed professionals with the right
mentality to raise the profile of the Bundesliga.

“It was decided that the academies were the best option to
sustain the supply chain of talents to clubs and national teams. The strategy
paid off, as the academies now guarantee a steady source of employment to many
German youths,” he said.

Merging football and
education

Also speaking, Kay Dammholz, Vice-President (Sales, Audio Visual
Rights) of the Bundesliga,

noted that as at September 1 2010, of the 5,000 youths
registered in academies across Germany, 110 made it into the Bundesliga, while
88 made it into Bundesliga 2.

He said that the academies’ operations by the clubs had since
been standardised. “They are expected to have U-9, U-10, U-11 teams without any
form of restrictions.

They also have U-12, U-13, U-14, U-15 squads and one team can
have up to 22 players.

“They are also expected to have high-performance categories,
made up of U-16, U-17,

U-18 and U-19 teams and one team can have up to 22 players.

“They are also to have the U-16 to U-19 category, of which 12 of
the players must be eligible to play for a German FA Youth National Team,” he
said.

Besides, Dammholz said that the Bundesliga had a standing
committee that toured the clubs to ensure that recommended standards were
strictly adhered to.

“The committee also helps to ensure that there is a healthy
marriage between schooling and football,” he said.

Stefan Satore, the Head Coach of the FSA Mainz 05 Academy, said
that “with the right mix of education and football, the academy ensures the
breeding of talents for senior teams.

“We work with schools to ensure that our products take their
academic work as seriously as they take their football careers,” he said.

Commenting on the German experience, Mitchell Obi, a journalist,
and Nkechi Obi, a sports marketer, stressed the need to promote a mix of
education and sports in Nigeria, so as to ensure that footballers, even after
their sporting careers, would be able to migrate to other vocations without
problems.

“It is at the youth level that the philosophies of
professionalism and team spirit can be instilled in the players,” Mitchell
said.

Emeka Odikpo, a sports commentator, said: “Although some
academies currently exist across Nigeria, they have been largely unable to
place their players in local or foreign clubs.”

“What then is their use if they are unable to place players in
clubs?” he asked, stressing that “the academies must be affiliates of clubs to
facilitate the easy movement of their products into clubs either at home or
abroad.

“The Nigeria Football Federation or the National League Board
should make it mandatory for clubs to own academies, as this will enable the
products of the academies to be gainfully engaged in the clubs. This is the
only way to appreciate the academies’ usefulness,” Odikpo said.

He noted that all the members of the Switzerland team to the
2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup hosted by Nigeria were all products of academies,
adding: “their clinical finishing at the tournament was an indication of their
good up-bringing.'” Nnamdi Okosieme, the Sports Editor of Next Newspapers, who
also took part in the German Bundesliga tour, said that “efforts should be made
to replicate the German model of football academy in Nigeria”.

Felix Awogu, General Manager, Super Sports Nigeria, explained that
the rationale behind taking journalists on the tour of the German Bundesliga
was to expose them to the emerging trends in football administration in other
parts of the world. “On our part, we shall strive to aid the technical
improvement of the Nigeria league, as we have a licence to broadcast its
matches,” Awogu said.

I read Innocent Egbunike’s article, written in 2007 after
Nigeria’s barren outing at that year’s Athletics World Championship in Japan
and republished in this paper last Sunday, and felt pain.

In that piece, Egbunike, who by any stretch of the imagination
is one of Nigeria’s most accomplished sportsmen, exposed the folly of our
sports administrators whose major interest is to amass as much wealth as
possible at the expense of the athletes who toil under the most difficult of
conditions.

A crying shame

In that thought-provoking article aptly titled “Failure to plan
is a plan to fail”, the former Nigerian quarter miler now a coach in Qatar,
goes back twenty years to show that nothing has really changed in the way
Nigerian athletics officials (and indeed) sports administrators in general,
short change athletes and treat them with disdain.

Egbunike writes of his experience in 1987 during the All Africa
Games in Nairobi. “In 1987, Nigeria flew me from Los Angeles to New York, New
York to Lagos, Nigeria and finally Lagos to Nairobi, Kenya, for the African
Games. I remember getting to Nairobi the morning of my event to find out that
there were no room arrangements made for me. I went to the officials after my
first round in the 400m to find out that they did not have any room for me. At
that point, I realised my battle was not against flesh and blood, but the
powers and principalities of darkness. I laid a mattress on the floor of my
teammates and slept there throughout the duration of the competition. What
surprised me was how the same officials, who did not provide me my
accommodations, took all the glory for my performance. That was 20 years ago.
Now in 2007, it is the same story.” Same story indeed.

You only need to look at the 2010 version of the Bolekaja or
Gwongworo (truck) used to ferry the victorious Falcons in Lagos upon their
return from the African Women’s Championships, in South Africa, to understand
that it is the same old story. I have said it again and again in this column
and elsewhere, we need to change our attitude vis a vis the treatment of our
sportsmen. Like Egbunike rightly says in the article, athletes are the raison
d’ etre of any sports set up. They are the essence of any process engineered by
the sports department whether you choose to call it sports ministry or council.
Without them, any exercise is futile.

A pool of talent

I have followed Nigerian athletics for a very long time and have
come to the conclusion that our failure to stand up and be counted in recent
times is not due to either dearth of talent or lack of effort on the part of
our athletes. The basic reason has been because we have had officials both at
the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and the Sports Ministry, who have failed to
harness the overabundance of talent here at home while reaching out to former
athletes in the Diaspora for their inputs. It is a sad commentary that given
the cumulative intellectual capital available to Nigerian athletics, the sport
remains mired in mediocrity in Nigeria. There is simply no reason for this. I
stand to be corrected, but I think that there is no sport in Nigeria (including
football) that rivals athletics in terms of sheer number of educated former
athletes.

In Bruce Ijirigho, Charlton Ehizuelen, Felix Imadiyi, Innocent
Egbunike, Maria Usifo, Pat Itanyi, The Ezinwa brothers, Chidi Imoh, Olapade
Adenekan, Falilat Ogunkoya-Omotayo, Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, Fatimah Yusuf and her
husband, Adewale Olukoju to mention a few, Nigeria has a large reservoir of
talent to enrich the sport. Why are we not availing ourselves of the
opportunity presented by this avalanche of talent? As we temporize, we lose
them to other nations. Right now, one of our best athletics coaches, Tony Osheku,
is in Libya helping that country develop the sport. At the African
Championships in Kenya, one of his athletes won gold for Libya. Our
administrators must wake up and begin to behave responsibly so that the present
slide can be checked; otherwise things may get irretrievably worse.

Four years ago, Ibrahim Galadima became one of
the least popular people in the country for his comments after Nigeria failed
to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Nigerians who were only then coming to terms with
the fact that the Super Eagles were not going to the Mundial in Germany got
furious that the head of the football house was quoted as saying that
qualification for the biggest football event in the world was not Nigeria’s
“birthright.”

Such was
the public uproar that not a lot of eyelids were batted when the then sports
minister Ismaila Sambawa decided to nullify the outcome of the polls
re-electing Galadima as the NFF boss.

However, just over a week ago, the man under
whose tenure Nigeria failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time
since making a debut appearance at the tournament in the United States of
America back in 1994 was nominated as the country’s representative ahead of
next February’s elections into the executive committee of Africa’s football
governing body, CAF.

And if Galadima or anybody in the NFF thought
four years was enough to make the majority of Nigerians forget the memories of
that 2006 World Cup failure, they were proved wrong because as soon as news of
his nomination emerged, criticisms came from all directions.

Old sins still fresh

From former footballers like Emeka Ezeugo, Nduka Ugbade, Steve
Abarowei and Jonathan Akpoborie, to football analyst Bode Oguntuyi, as well as
sports writer Dare Esan, the general opinion was that the Kano based
businessman was not good enough to fly the country’s flag at the polls taking
place in Khartoum next year. He will be up against the respective heads of the
football associations of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, Kwesi Nyantakyi and Jacques
Anouma.

The Galadima critics opined that other candidates such as former
Nigerian internationals Segun Odegbami and Adokie Amiesimaka, as well as a
former handler of the Super Eagles and FIFA technical instructor Adeboye
Onigbinde would have been better placed to vie for a spot in the executive arm
of the continental body.

“There are lots of other Nigerians who can represent us and do a
better job like Odegbami, Adokie and even Onigbinde,” Oguntuyi told NEXT in
Lagos. “These are people I believe that can elevate Nigeria’s status in CAF and
FIFA but I guess they were not even considered in the first place by those that
nominated Galadima.”

“A lot of politicking takes place within CAF and FIFA but these
organisations also know the importance of having technocrats and that’s why we
need the likes of Adokie and Odegbami who can represent Nigeria in CAF and FIFA
the way the late Patrick Okpomo did,” added Esan, editor of Nigerian sports
daily, Complete Sports, recalling the late secretary general of the Nigerian
FA, Okpomo, who died in 2004.

Efforts by NEXTSports to get the acting secretary general of the
NFF, Musa Amadu to comment on how Galadima’s name emerged from the discreet
selection process proved abortive as the NFF scribe refused to comment on the
matter offering instead to speak on the issue at some other time.

Subsequent efforts also failed to yield positive fruits as
NEXTSports was informed by an official in the NFF secretariat that Amadu, along
with a handful of board members had journeyed to Germany for last Thursday’s
international friendly between the Super Falcons and their German counterparts.

Galadima also refused to comment on his nomination when
NEXTSports got in touch with him but he had earlier told the BBC why he decided
at this point to come out of his shell.

And according to him, winning a place on CAF’s executive
committee would give him the chance to help rebuild the organisation’s image
and salvage the continent’s dignity especially in the light of the recent
suspension of four of the continent’s top football administrators by FIFA,
including Nigeria’s Amos Adamu.

Project Galadima

“It’s not a Galadima project but that of Nigeria and Africa,”
Galadima told the BBC.

“There are several aspects of the African game that require
development. Our youth and club football needs to develop and the women’s game
must take a professional path as well.” He then added: “The entire set-up needs
change, which I hope to bring on board. The NFF has put me forward with the
backing of the sports ministry in Nigeria not because I’m the best amongst
several millions.

“They are confident I can represent Nigeria and the continent to
the best of my ability.” The decision of the NFF and the sports ministry didn’t
however go down well with Adamu whose seat Galadima will be vying for at next
February’s CAF Congress.

This is because Adamu recently launched an appeal against his
three-year suspension by FIFA over a cash-for-votes scandal and felt the NFF’s
decision could lead to confusion if his appeal is successful at the end of the
day.

There are however a cross section of individuals, mostly those
who have had a first-hand experience of working with Galadima who believe his
nomination is a step in the right direction.

One of those who see the move in a positive light is former NFF
executive member Taiwo Ogunjobi, who worked as the FA’s scribe under Galadima.

“I think Galadima’s nomination was well thought out and I am
hopeful that he will represent the country very well on the CAF Executive
Committee board,” said Ogunjobi in a chart with Supersport.com.

“He is a man of integrity and having worked very closely with
him some years back, I can say without hesitation that his candidature will
bring good tidings to both the image of the country and indeed the development
of the game both in Nigeria and on the continent of Africa,” he added.

Another is former member of the Federal House of Representatives Lumumba
Adeh. “I want to call on all well meaning Nigerians to give total support to Galadima’s
candidature. The government has a special role to play because it is going to
involve diplomacy and stuffs like that.”

Nigeria may not
benefit fully from all interventions available for the development of
sports in schools unless there is a legal and institutional framework
for school sports in place. This was disclosed by Judith Giwa-Amu,
Programme Officer, Basic Education of UNICEF, in Abuja, at the National
Steering Committee meeting for International Inspiration Programme.

“It is conceivable
that the institutionalisation of physical education and school sports
policy would provide the impetus that will galvanise stakeholders to
take the needed steps and actions,” she said. “Without the national
school sports policy in place, Nigeria may not avail herself of all the
interventions available from UNICEF. Also states may not easily adopt
it if there is none at the federal level.

“Before we do
anything there must be a legal document. The document will ensure
provision of regular and systematic instructional physical education;
recreational and competitive sports opportunity and experience in all
educational institution.

“This will enable
every child and youth in the school system to actualise his optimal
potential for the benefit of the individual and society.

“This policy
clearly states the roles and responsibilities of various agencies that
provide services to sports in our various schools. This shall assist in
eliminating duplication of services, wastage of resources and lack of
coherence in the programmes and strategies being pursued.

There is need for
an appropriate institutional framework which will effectively
coordinate, promote and ensure implementation of approved government
policy in all levels of education.

When the policy is in place there will be seamless implementation of the International Inspiration programme.

The programme
involves linking some Nigerian primary and secondary schools with some
schools in the UK so that both can work together with each other to
develop replicable models and practice.

School sports
policy, she said, is guidelines for the operation of sports education,
practice and experience within schools. The purpose is to provide
guidelines and directions for school programme and experience that will
ensure optimisation of deliverable benefit pupils, students and the
society.

The International
Inspiration programme was designed to enhance increased take up of
sporting opportunity by children and young people of all abilities
including marginalised children and children with special needs. It
targets increased engagement in education by young people.

“We are trying to bring children to school, distract them from unwholesome practice,” Giwa-Amu said.

Even Roger Federer
can suffer a crisis of confidence and the Swiss was quick to thank his
new coach for restoring his after capping a vintage week at the ATP
World Tour Finals Sunday.

The 29-year-old
Swiss played some of the best tennis of 2010 as he roared through to
the final against world number one Rafael Nadal without dropping a set
and he was at his flamboyant best again to beat the Spaniard 6-3 3-6
6-1.

Rewind back a few months, however, and there were those who thought Federer’s aura had gone for good.

Defeat by Robin
Soderling at the French Open ended his incredible sequence of 23
consecutive appearances in the semi-finals of grand slam tournaments
and he suffered another quarter-final loss to Tomas Berdych at
Wimbledon.

In between those
two shocks he was beaten by Lleyton Hewitt on the grass courts of Halle
, his first loss there since 2002 and against a player who he had
beaten 15 times in a row.

Drastic action was
needed and Federer turned to American coach Paul Annacone, formerly
with Pete Sampras, to compliment the work he was doing with fellow
Swiss Severin Luthi.

Six finals

It appears to have
worked as Federer, who has often gone it alone without a full-time
coach, has reached six finals and compiled a 35-4 record.

“First of all, I
had to regain some confidence,” Federer told reporters after only his
second win in two and half years over nine-times grand slam champion
Nadal.

“That only comes
through winning matches. After having somewhat of a disappointing clay
season, Halle, Wimbledon stretch, where I wasn’t able to win any
tournaments and didn’t play my best tennis, played a bit passive, it
was important that I was able to pick up my game.

“I started moving
better, started feeling well physically and mentally. I’m sure Paul has
helped in this regard. So has Severin. He’s helped as well over the
last few years.

“That’s why I’m
very happy with my team at this stage of the season. I can obviously
thank them for great work. It’s through their hard work and my
condition trainer, my physio, my wife and kids and everybody.

“It’s been intense
at times but it seems like we made many right decisions toward the end
of the season. My body was able to cope with a lot of playing I did.
I’ve played five tournaments in seven weeks but I feel very happy right
now.” While Nadal has been the outstanding player this season, winning
the French Open,

Wimbledon and the
U.S. Open, Federer underlined just how important it was for him to win
the year-ending title for a record-equalling fifth time.

In a tournament featuring the world’s top eight players he won five matches, dropping just one set in the process.

“I’m really
thrilled the way I played all week,” he said. “To win a fifth time is
obviously amazing, for the third time in a different place after
Houston and Shanghai.

“I’m just really happy the way I was able to finish the season in style, really saving the best for last.

“Today was another
great match with some fantastic rallies. I know it doesn’t take
anything away from Rafa’s great season, because it was magnificent.

REUTERS