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Nigeria
received a reprieve on Friday in its face-off with world football
governing body, FIFA, as the ban placed on the country last Monday was
lifted on Friday after a meeting of the football body’s emergency
committee.

“The FIFA Emergency
Committee decided today, 8 October 2010, to provisionally lift the
suspension of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The decision was
taken after observing that the situation had taken a positive turn in
recent days, with the claimant at the origin of the court actions
publicly committing itself to withdrawing its claim, the acting General
Secretary of the NFF returning to his post on 5 October 2010 and the
issue of the Nigeria League being left totally within the ambit of the
NFF,” FIFA said in a statement released after the meeting.

“The suspension has
been lifted provisionally until 26 October 2010, after noting that the
next hearing before the court is scheduled for 25 October 2010 and that
only then can the judge vacate the court orders. However, should the
NFF still be embroiled in court actions or any other issue preventing
it from working freely on that date, the suspension will be
automatically confirmed until all problems have been definitively
solved.”

The decision coming
at the time it did was not surprising. In the 72 hours preceding the
reprieve there had been a flurry of activities geared towards getting
the football body to rescind its decision. A number of prominent sports
personalities including Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, Falilat Ogunkoya, Henry
Amike, and Yusuf Alli had met in Lagos on Tuesday and called on FIFA to
to lift the ban. They also castigated some individuals within the
football family for initiating the ban on Nigeria.

Sacrificing Baribote

That same day,
Rumson Baribote, the chairman of Bayelsa United was fired by the
Bayelsa State Government along with other members of the board. The
action was done without much fanfare and people did not think much of
it. But for those who have followed events keenly, it was a strategic
move.

Baribote was one of
the central figures in the furore over the enlargement of the Nigeria
Premier League to 24 teams. His club had been relegated and he had
threatened to head to the Court of Arbitration in Sports (CAS) in
Switzerland if he did not get justice in Nigeria. Many believe the
enlargement of the league was done to appease him, an action that irked
FIFA, which had been informed by its agents in Nigeria that Ibrahim
Bio, the Minister of Sports, was responsible for the move.

In order to appease
FIFA therefore, Baribote had to go. The reasoning was very simple. If
he is fired as Bayelsa United boss, he will have no basis to head for
CAS. With Baribote out of the way, the next step was to get Harrison
Jalla, the man who had gone to court insisting that elections must be
held first into the state football associations before that of the NFF,
to withdraw the case.

On Wednesday, Amos
Adamu, Rafiu Ladipo, and a few others met with Jalla in Lagos during
which Jalla agreed in principle to withdraw the case from court subject
to the fulfilment of certain conditions, which were not immediately
made public. Jalla said if those conditions were not met before October
25, the day the case comes up for another hearing, he would have no
choice but to continue with the suit. With that agreement, Adamu
contacted his people at FIFA headquarters informing them that the coast
was clear for the lifting of the ban. The following night Bio met with
Jalla to “encourage” him to withdraw the case.

It was thus not
surprising that FIFA went into an “emergency” session on Friday after
which it lifted the ban. Jalla was not immediately available for
comment but Princewill Oviesan, Media Officer of the National
Association of Nigerian Footballers, said that in going into
negotiations, his organisation was motivated by the need to spare
Nigerian football as much pain as possible.

“We were concerned
about the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match between Nigeria and
Guinea, that was one of the reasons we went into negotiations and we
made our position clear that if by October 25, the agreements reached
have not been implemented then we would have no choice but to continue
with the case in court,” he said.

Not yet over

While October 25 is
two weeks away, the worst may not be over yet. One of the agreements
reached at the meeting between Jalla and Adamu was that bodies like
Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and the Nigerian
University Games Association (NUGA), who former President Sani Lulu
removed from the list of delegates eligible to vote during NFF
executive committee elections, should be re-instated. This is in
addition to his main demand that state elections must hold before those
into the executive committee.

It may be easy for concession to be made with regard to the first
demand, but it is not likely that there will be progress on the matter
of state FA elections. The reason, NEXT learnt, is because Adamu, whose
tenure on the FIFA Executive Committee comes to an end in less than a
year’s time, is desperate to ensure that his lackeys appropriate
leadership positions on the NFF board. That way, his re-nomination by
Nigeria for another term on the FIFA executive committee, is assured.

Lucas
Radebe is a personal friend of Nelson Mandela, a FIFA ambassador and
one of Leeds United’s finest players of modern times but he still
vividly recalls the grim Christmas when he nearly turned his back on
what was destined to be a brilliant future.

He had his bags
packed, an airline ticket in his pocket and was ready to secretly
escape from Leeds and fly back to Johannesburg.

It was that Christmas of 1994 that he made the best decision of his life. He took his hand off the doorknob and stayed.

His first few
months in the north of England had been tough and he hated the place
which now reveres him as an adopted son and one of Leeds finest players
of modern times.

“I arrived there knowing nothing about Leeds. Going overseas for me was like walking into a dark room blindfolded.

“I had no idea what
to expect, I didn’t know anything about Leeds United – and when I
arrived it was horrible, I hated it,” he told Reuters in an interview.

By the December he
had started just one match in four months, made a few brief appearances
as a substitute, and explained how he came to be facing a swift return
home.

“Nothing was happening for me and I wanted to go. Breaking into the first team under Howard Wilkinson was tough. I hadn’t.

“I was only used
sparingly. I never played in the big games and I was getting depressed
and homesick. Me and (teammate) Phil Masina used to save up 50 pence
pieces to phone home from a payphone. That’s how bad it was.

“It was December
1994. The worst part was the weather, it was horrible and I thought,
‘my bags are packed, I’ve got my ticket, I am just going to go’. I
wasn’t going to tell anybody, I was just going.” But he changed his
mind, won a place in the side at the start of a glittering decade of
good times and is now lauded as a Leeds great as well as being a
personal friend of former South African president Mandela, who has
described the 41-year-old as “my hero”.

From the streets

He also works as a
FIFA ambassador and his new autobiography, “From the Streets of Soweto
to Soccer Superstar,” tells his astonishing life story which has seen
him rise from a Soweto hoodlum who stole and hijacked cars, became the
victim of a street shooting, but is now one of Africa’s best-loved
footballers.

“I got involved in
crime, gangsterism, hijackings. We made sure that when tomorrow came we
had something in our stomachs. But that’s the lifestyle I knew growing
up,” he said.

“There were no role
models, we didn’t have access to TV or international events, it was a
day-by-day existence and survival of the fittest.”

Radebe’s lucky
break came through his parents. They sent him away from Soweto at 15 to
school in the rural homeland of Bophuthatswana. There he began to
develop into such a superb footballer that he was signed by Kaizer
Chiefs. After three years there, reports of a talented centre-back were
circulated to clubs in England and Scotland.

“I know Dundee
United were interested and I could have gone there, and some clubs in
London. But Leeds made the best offer and I went there instead. I was
already 25, I wasn’t young but had no real idea what I was heading for.
I had never been out of South Africa, I didn’t have a clue,” he laughed.

Personal tragedy

Personal tragedy
has blighted his life too including the death of his 34-year-old wife
Feziwe from cancer two years ago leaving him to bring up his three
children alone.

But everything would have been different if he had opened that door in his digs in Leeds all those years ago and gone home.

“Standing there, I
realised the opportunity I had, and the responsibility I had, not just
of representing myself but also my country and of the chance to open
some doors for other African players.

“I changed my mind.
I thought I would rather fail having tried than not try at all. I had
been through all the dark days of apartheid, I had been shot, I had had
nothing but I survived. That’s what transformed me.

“Coming through
that childhood in which I saw many of my friends killed or jailed,
built my character and helped me face the challenges in Leeds – and
George Graham coming in as manager was absolutely brilliant for me. He
gave me my chance and the great days began.”

Champions league

In his decade with
the club, Leeds challenged for honours, reached the Champions League
semi-finals and between 1998 and 2002 finished between third and fifth
in the Premier League.

Their recent
revival after slipping down to the third tier in England pleases him
and he was given a hero’s welcome when he went back to visit Elland
Road last week.

But right now other
matters are occupying his thoughts – not least the legacy the World Cup
finals will bring to South Africa and Africa as a whole.

“If somebody had
told me in my lifetime that we would have hosted the World Cup in
Soweto, I would never have believed it. It was a tough, tough place to
grow up, I played football in the street, we had little in the way of
facilities.

“But just the fact
that Soweto hosted the World Cup was a triumph in itself.” He says the
opening day of the World Cup was one of the most emotional of his life.

“I was doing TV
with Francois Pienaar, the winner of the 1995 Rugby World Cup and when
both teams came out, I am telling you, we looked at each other, we had
goosebumps, we were like kids. It was such a great achievement, it was
the greatest thing.” The stadiums, he says, will serve as an
inspiration to future generations.

“I am sure the
World Cup, the new stadiums, everything, will take us to another level.
We don’t want to be like Japan or Korea who demolished the stadiums
after spending so much money on them in 2002.

“For me they are an
investment for youth, for the grass roots of the game. The stadiums
stand as a symbol of inspiration for the upcoming generations and can
pay dividends for the young for years.”

And what of the former Soweto bad boy who is now friends with Mandela?

“That is truly amazing. I go round to see him with my kids for lunch
or tea sometimes. He has been an amazing friend since my wife died and,
well, it’s a long way from where I started.”

Liverpool are on the wrong end of the English Premier League table and languishing in massive debt but they remain top of the table as far as income earned from shirt endorsement deals are concerned.

Without a doubt England’s most successful football club and one of the biggest sides in the world, Liverpool’s performance as far as the 2010/2011 season is concerned has been one not befitting of a club with such a proud history.

Although they have not won a league title for close to 19 years, they have added a host of other titles to their long list of honours, and even won the UEFA Champions League for the fifth time in their 118-year history as ‘recently’ as 2005.

But they are currently in the relegation zone on the Premier League table and, worse still, could suffer a nine-point penalty if their present owners’ holding company is put into administration.

Previously, it was believed that Liverpool will not be penalised if Kop Holdings, the company owned by Tom Hicks and George Gilliett, were to be put into administration but now a nine-point penalty is reportedly becoming a serious threat especially if Hicks and Gilliett continue to block the proposed £300 million takeover by New England Sports Ventures (NESV) and do not pay off their £280m debt by October 15; a situation that might force the Royal Bank of Scotland to put Kop Holdings into administration.

Premier League rules state that because Kop Holdings is solely focused on the ownership of Liverpool and football-related matters, a nine-point penalty is a possibility.

West Ham United were in a similar situation when their holding company Icelandic Bank Straumur became insolvent, but they escaped a point deduction because Straumur had financial interests in other ventures, not just a football club, unlike Kop Holdings.

Pick of the pack

But the Reds, irrespective of their current travails, are right there at the top when it comes to shirt endorsements along with bitter rivals Manchester United who, like Liverpool, were purchased by an American investor.

Although the disparity between the top teams and the bottom is wide, all the 20 Premier League clubs can boast of shirt deals that are comparable with those of some of the world’s top football leagues.

In total the Premier League clubs have signed shirt deals worth £403.9 million, with durations ranging on the average between one and four years. And on top of that list are Liverpool and Manchester United with deals worth £80 million, about £20 million annually.

Globally, only two other clubs have shirt deals greater than those of these two. They are Spain’s Real Madrid and Bayern Munich of Germany, both with annual figures slightly under £22 million.

Chelsea and Tottenham follow suit behind the fierce English rivals with shirt deals that annually rake in £12 million and £10 million respectively for them. Manchester City follows next before the duo of Aston Villa and Arsenal follow suit.

Although Arsenal’s deal with Emirates only rakes in around £6 million annually, the United Arab Emirates-based airliner’s deal with the London based club signed back in 2006 saw Emirates doling out £100 million for a 15-year period, along with the right to the name of their current home ground.

Back in 2006, the deal was considered outrageous by industry watchers as it was unprecedented. But just four years down the road, what was then considered the most expensive sponsorship deal ever is proving to be quite small compared to existing contracts with other clubs in the same category as the Gunners.

Worse part of it all for Arsenal is that they still have another 11 years to go before the end of their deal with Emirates.

FIFA,
according to its code of ethics, is supposed to constantly strive to
protect the image of football, from jeopardy or harm but the ban on
Nigeria seems to be protecting a particular clique from harm and not
football development in the country. This piece is not to review
whether the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) ban
is good or bad or whether it will do the game any good. What it seeks
to achieve really is what the world governing body of football, FIFA,
really wants? Is it that FIFA consciously supports corruption and
corrupt officials or they do not just want any kind of government
interference in their ‘cup of tea’?

There had been
various warnings to the Nigerian government that the hammer would fall
but in an era where next year’s elections are on the front burner,
football can go burn itself – football will not run or ruin the country.

It is also a well
known fact that FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, was irritated, vociferous
and quick to officially react when French politicians debated about the
performance of their national football team in South Africa.

That has been the
kind of imperial authority that the Switzerland-based body seeks to
wield over the game and that has led many to call FIFA a monopoly. What
FIFA does not understand is that it can so irritate countries to mutiny
and that could spell its end. How the English Premier League was formed
should be an adequate example for the football body.

FIFA can consider
itself important now but it is the game, most importantly, the players
that are important. Without them, there will be no game to administer
and the faster Blatter and his mates get that, the better it will be
for them in their handling of football affairs.

Nigeria’s President
Goodluck Jonathan tried to ban all national teams from international
soccer games for two years, following very poor performances by the
Super Eagles in South Africa added to immense corruption allegations
against football officials, but he was dissuaded from that line of
action by pleas from the Nigerian people.

Cleansing the football stable

Now it was
inevitable that the football house had to be cleansed with the FIFA
ban. But the recent pronouncements, out of court settlements and
re-instatements – no one actually knows when the Aegean stable will be
cleaned.

Though FIFA has not
come out to discuss the allegations of corruption levelled against its
officials, they are quick to issue a ban over government interference.
I believe the nation has more to gain by this ban – because there will
be no competitions to go to and therefore no estacodes or monies to be
shared. If the ban can go on for up to two years, most of the so-called
football administrators will find other businesses to do – like
importing rice! A member of the deposed board of the Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF), Felix Anyansi-Agwu condemned FIFA’s action but blamed
it on the work of saboteurs.

“It should now be
clear to Nigerians who are the real enemies of Nigeria. Why should a
group of two or three people stand out and want to scuttle what the
majority have done. The election into the board of NFF was free and
fair and everybody saw it.

“I want to say in
clear terms that this is sabotage against the President of this country
who wants Nigerian football to move forward. These are the same people
who advised him to withdraw Nigeria from international football.”

Former chairman of
the Nigeria Professional League Board, Onyuki Obaseki is more concerned
about the slap on Nigeria’s sovereign status by FIFA.

Obaseki questioned
FIFA’s intrusive nature on Nigeria’s internal affairs, saying that the
country was a sovereign nation with laws that govern it.

“A court order
stopped the NFF from conducting the elections that brought about all
these problems. The NFF defied that order and FIFA is now suspending
the country,” Obaseki said.

Saluting corruption

Internal political
interference in sports can have many consequences but one thing is
sure, financial and political excesses need to be moderated – the
financial part is what makes FIFA culpable in this matter. Sports, nay
football may have major political and economic implications in a
country like Nigeria and yes, FIFA’s intervention at times may be
welcome and needed but wisdom and justice is needed especially in cases
of apparent corruption.

FIFA comes across
as saluting corruption with the inaction of the body towards the
infamous Jack Warner from Trinidad and Tobago and the wanton excesses
of the North Korea government concerning its players and coaches.

Blatter and FIFA
have been very quick to threaten Nigeria and France with bans – and
have actually suspended Greece in the past – but on cases of corruption
and human rights abuses, they have been conveniently silent.

The North Korean
government has subjected football coach Kim Jong Hun, and his players
to public ridicule. The safety of the coach in the totalitarian regime
is at risk and FIFA will not act as the body knows where its bread is
buttered.

President-elect of
the NFF, Aminu Maigari refused to comment on the situation. But
Bertrand Ekenwa, a football agent, said: “Nigerian football has been
put in jeopardy because of a selfish few. It’s only a madman that will
think of challenging FIFA.”

Well, the gauntlet has been thrown down and time will show who was right or wrong.

In the end, it just
seems that some people are taking advantage of FIFA’s protective laws
to perpetrate a lot of corruption and disharmony in Nigerian football.

This will not be the first time that Nigeria will be banned and may
not be the last. Nigeria was banned in 1996, by CAF, for pulling out of
the Nations Cup in South Africa and also suffered a two-year FIFA ban
in 1985 from age-group competitions because of age falsification.

The
indefinite suspension placed on Nigeria by football’s world governing
body, FIFA may soon be lifted as the National Association of Nigerian
Footballers (NANF), led by Harrison Jalla, has agreed to an out of
court settlement – regarding the case the association brought against
officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

The association had
sued the elected board of the NFF as well as several top officials
including FIFA executive committee member Amos Adamu to the Federal
High Court in respect of the disputed August 26 elections into the NFF
executive committee.

The action was
however contrary to FIFA regulations and was one of the reasons given
by the world body on Monday for its decision to suspend Nigeria from
international football.

In a communiqué
jointly signed by Jalla, Adamu, former Super Eagles defender Taribo
West and five others, NANF agreed to an out of court settlement so as
to “ensure that Nigeria does not lose any of its FIFA-organised
qualifiers” scheduled for this weekend.

The qualifiers
comprise the African Under 20 Youth Championship qualifier between the
Flying Eagles and their Mauritian counterparts, and the 2012 Africa Cup
of Nations match in Conakry between Nigeria and Guinea.

There are however
certain conditions that need to be in place, in the opinion of NANF,
before the next hearing of the case on October 25 in Lagos. Top of the
conditions is that, all the issues contained in the suit filed by the
association must be resolved amicably between all the parties concerned
before the next court hearing.

Nigeria-Guinea game in doubt

Meanwhile, Guinea’s
national team coach Frenchman Michel Dussuyer has said the game between
the Super Eagles and Guinea, scheduled for Sunday has been postponed.

Speaking on
Wednesday morning to French sports magazine L’Equipe from Abidjan, Cote
D’Ivoire where the Guineans are preparing for the match, Dussuyer said
he got a fax from the Guinean FA saying the Nigeria encounter has been
postponed indefinitely.

“No reasons were given. We’re waiting for further clarifications,” Dussuyer said.

The NFF is however in the dark regarding the development.

According to its
media officer, Robinson Okosun, there has not been any official
communication from either the Guinean FA or the confederation of
African Football (CAF). Okosun said efforts had been made by the NFF to
get in touch with CAF’s media head Suleiman Habuba regarding this
development.

There is however a
possibility that the presidential election run-off in Guinea may have
been the reason behind the Guinean FA’s decision to postpone the game.

The presidential
election run-off now scheduled to take place on October 24, was meant
to take place in September, but was postponed after violent clashes
between rival supporters.

A subsequent date
of October 10 – the day the Nigeria-Guinea match was initially expected
to take place – was proposed but was not agreed upon because of a row
over who should lead the electoral commission.

The electoral commission was plunged into chaos last month when its
president was convicted of electoral fraud during the first round. He
later died after a long illness.

Ayo Ositelu, one of
Nigeria’s most experienced journalists has advised President Goodluck
Jonathan to call the bluff of world football governing body, FIFA over
its decision to ban Nigeria from all its global football competitions.

Ositelu, former
Sports Editor of The Punch Group of Newspapers, said by banning Nigeria
the way it has done FIFA has shown disrespect to a sovereign nation.

“It is about time
Nigeria called the bluff of the arrogant dictators or self-styled
overlords who delight in issuing threats and terrorising mostly
developing countries on the flimsiest of excuses. I really do not know
how the self-serving opportunists who found themselves running world
football got the idea that the Nigerian government decides what goes on
in the courts of law,” Ositelu said.

“Where was FIFA
when government gave Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) N900 million for
the South Africa World Cup? Where was FIFA when government was
financing all NFF programmes? And where will NFF be without government?
Does FIFA know that corporate bodies do not support sports or football
in Nigeria? It is the government that fund the sport.

“Everybody knows
who is behind all these problems, the same person who has controlled
sports for 20 years with little to show for the government’s massive
investment in sports,

particularly
football. I’m sure the government knows what to do before one man
single-handedly destroys what Nigeria has built for more than seven
decades.”

Fishing out culprits

He said FIFA ought to show Nigeria more respect.

“What is the
problem of FIFA if government say they want to increase the number of
club in the league? If FIFA can do without Nigeria, they should go
ahead so that the country could organise its football,” Ositelu said.

“On June 6, 2006,
when FIFA ordered England, Spain, Italy and Germany to reduce the
number of the teams in their leagues so that players play less matches,
these nations told FIFA to go to hell and why is FIFA concerning itself
with unimportant issues instead of focusing on important issue like
goal-line technology. The tenure of Sepp Blatter as FIFA boss is the
most corrupt in the history of FIFA.”

Ositelu also called for an investigation to expose those behind the nation’s recent predicaments.

“The person or
persons must be brought to book. After all, no person (not even
President Jonathan) is bigger than Nigeria. The sports minister is not
minister of football but of sports, I think the FIFA ban will help us
to focus on other sports… money spent on football should be diverted
to other sports in Nigeria”.

NPL responsible

In a related
development, the National Sports Commission (NSC) has said it is not to
blame for the enlargement of the Nigeria Premier League to 24 teams
from its original 20. Olukayode Thomas, Special Assistant to the Sports
minister, Ibrahim Bio, said neither Bio nor Patrick Ekeji unilaterally
increased the number of teams in the premier league “On the issue of
the league, the decision not to relegate any team was taken by the NPL,
NFF and the club owners, who met in Abuja to resolve the dispute
between Baribote and the NPL. So what is the ministry’s role in that
case?” Thomas asked.

Bruno Gozzelino,
the president of the World Mountain Running Association has said
Nigeria is likely to host one of the biggest outdoor running event in
the next few years.

Gozzelino said this
in Calabar at the weekend. According to him, the Obudu Ranch Resort,
venue of the annual Obudu International Mountain Race, is good enough
to host the federation’s flagship event – the World Mountain Running
Championships.

Conditions

Gozzelino believes
the organisers of the race in Nigeria have also shown a mastery of the
sport and only a few things need to be improved upon.

“I strongly believe
that the Obudu Ranch Resort has a good chance of staging the biggest
competition in our calendar, the World Mountain Running Championships,”
said the Italian.

“In my opinion only
two areas need to be adjusted for the competition to come to Nigeria
and they are the travel arrangements for participants and the terrain
of the Ranch.

“In terms of
travel, I think the Local Organising Committee for the international
mountain race has been doing a perfect job. What the WMRA will only
require is a guarantee and days for accommodation increased to at least
five days.

“As you all know, a
world championships involves a minimum of 500 people around the world
and that is only speaking about athletes and coaches. We still have the
fans, the media and the invited guests.

“So the LOC only
needs to increase the number of rooms and make arrangements for easy
transfer from Lagos to Calabar before the road trip to Obudu.”

Obudu race

The Obudu
Iinternational Mountain Race is organised by the Cross River State
Government, in conjunction with the Athletic Federation of Nigeria.

It enjoys
tremendous support from the African Athletics Confederation(CAA), the
WMRA and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

The race covers a
distance of 11 kilometres uphill to an altitude of 1,575 metres above
sea level, taking athletes to one of the finest tourist destinations in
the world, the Obudu Mountain Resort.

This year’s race,
which has been confirmed for the last week of November, will feature
aside the main race such activities as a Doping in Sports Seminar, the
Media Race, Children’s Race, and a Gala Night/Fireworks.

The main race will flag-off alongside the African Championship at 8.00 a.m on Saturday, November 27.

World number one
Rafa Nadal insists his great rival Roger Federer is no spent force and
on Wednesday backed him to add to his record haul of 16 grand slam
titles.

“He won at the
Australian Open and won in Cincinnati (Federer’s 17th Masters 1000
title), got to the final in Madrid and Toronto … so it’s a good year
for him,” Nadal told reporters at this week’s Japan Open.

“It’s very
difficult to always be 100 percent and what Federer did the last seven
or eight years is almost impossible to repeat. It’s unbelievable.”
Nadal matched Federer in winning all four grand slam crowns by winning
last month’s U.S. Open to move to nine overall and add to the Wimbledon
and French Open crowns he won earlier in the year.

But the Spaniard
warned that it was far too early to write off Federer, who has won 63
career titles but has slipped to third in the world rankings.

“Of course he is
going to challenge to win the big tournaments,” said Nadal, who is
making his first appearance in Japan this week. “He is still – what?
–number two or three in the world and his game is still at a very high
level.”

Nadal and Federer are two of only seven men to have won all four majors and the Spaniard paid credit to the Swiss maestro.

“It’s very difficult to always be at the top,” said Nadal, who is gunning for his seventh title of the year this week.

“What he did is very, very difficult.”

Nigeria’s hopes of
finishing as the best African team at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in
New Delhi India is gradually fading as the country’s athletes continue
to falter in their respective events.

Yesterday, the
country’s boxers were outclassed by their opponents as they tried to
advance at the Commonwealth Games, which enters its fourth day today.

Competing in the
60kg lightweight division, Sogbamu Waheed was pummelled in the
preliminary round of the boxing event as he lost 11-1 to his Pakistani
opponent, Khan Nawaz.

It was the same for
his compatriot Ademuyi Kehinde who lost 7-2 to his opponent in the 69kg
category. Both boxers had earlier been tipped to win medals before
departing for the games.

Their performance
came a day after their counterpart, Ganiu Muyideen, lost to his
opponent and blamed his coach for failing to give him the right
instructions.

Also in the team
event for table tennis, the country’s female team made up of Atinuke
Olaide, Edem Offiong, Effiom Janet and Ogundele Ganiat was ousted by
Singapore; losing 3-0 in the quarter finals of the event.

The woes continued
in the weightlifting event as Eze Ndidi failed to replicate the feat of
her other colleagues, who had won a gold and silver medal, as she
finished bottom of the pack in the women’s 58kg finals. The category
was won by Renu Yumnam of India.

Belly trouble

Meanwhile, two of
England’s top women swimmers on Wednesday complained of stomach
problems, while Australia’s Andrew Lauterstein was forced to pull out
of the men’s 50m butterfly final due to a stomach complaint.

Rebecca Adlington
and Fran Halsall both wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter that
they were suffering from “Delhi belly”, which was affecting their
performances.

“Delhi belly please
go away,” wrote double Olympic champion and 800m freestyle world record
holder Adlington on Wednesday morning.

She later won
bronze in the women’s 4x200m freestyle, her second medal of the Games
after a third-place finish in the 200m freestyle.

But the strain was clearly taking its toll as she prepared for the 800m free final on Thursday.

Also in swimming,
Australia’s Matthew Cowdrey broke his own 50 metres world record with a
winning time of 25.33 which beat his 2008 mark of 25.34, set at the
Beijing Paralympics, by the slimmest of margins.

He also smashed his Games record of 25.66 set during qualifying this year.

England’s Simon Miller finished second in 26.70, while India’s Prasanta Karmakar took third in 27.48.

In women’s hockey,
India’s miserable run continued on Wednesday, with the team losing 2-1
to defending champions Australia at the Major Dhyan Chand National
Stadium.

After splitting
points with Scotland in their opening Pool A match on Monday, much was
expected from India, silver medalists at the last Games, against the
young Australian side, but they failed to live up to expectations
before a moderate crowd.

The defeat put India in a tight position for a semi final berth.
They now need to win their remaining matches against Trinidad and
Tobago and South Africa by big margins to stay in contention.

Lee Westwood will
try to put the Ryder Cup out of his mind and will not be distracted by
the prospect of becoming world number one when he tees off in this
week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The Briton, a key
member of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team, will knock Tiger Woods
off the top of the rankings if he finishes first or second in a
tournament he won in 2003.

“The thing this
week to do is to concentrate on the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
as it’s easy to get distracted and not be able to refocus after last
week,” Westwood told reporters on Wednesday.

“Going to number two on Monday and having a chance to go to number one, I could get drawn towards that as well.

“But obviously if I
take care of business on the golf course this week at the Dunhill Links
then the world No. 1 ranking takes care of itself.”

Great performance

Westwood arrived in
Scotland on Tuesday evening after celebrating well into the morning
following Europe’s stunning one-point victory over the U.S. at Celtic
Manor.

“Everybody was obviously very happy on Monday evening and why not?,” he said.

“It was an incredible Ryder Cup, just about everything and the result in the end showed how close the two teams were.

“The weather almost
added to the drama. Fortunately the result turned out in our favour
through some gritty play. I suppose G-Mac (Graeme McDowell) is the one
that’s been highlighted the most with it being the winning putt, but I
thought it was a great team performance overall.”

The Ryder Cup
finished on a Monday for the first time due to bad weather in Wales and
Westwood said consideration should be given to staging the 2014 event
at Gleneagles, Scotland in September.

“The Ryder Cup is so prestigious and such a big event now that priority should be given to it with regards to dates,” he said.

“Common sense has
to be used somewhere along the line. You can’t know how unreliable the
weather is. Just any help would be good I think. Shift it forward a
couple of weeks. I think September is generally a good month.”

Westwood, 37, is bidding to become the third British player to get
to the top of the world rankings, after Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam.