MARKETING OUR NIGERIAN FOOTBALL

Every time I read about the Nigerian Football Federation going to the government to beg for grants and subvention make me realise that our leaders don’t know their role in the Glass House. It is also quite appalling that the same officials will claim if elected will market our football and when elected, the reverse is the situation. The president of the NFF is the chief marketing officer but overtime this role is relegated to the background. A look at the various clubs and football associations particularly in Europe, America, Asia, Oceania, North and South Africa shows that the head of their football understand what it takes to grow and develop the sport but that is not the same with Nigeria. The country is blessed with both human and natural resources with a population of more than 170 million and an army of corporate organizations, but the PACKAGING has being our biggest flaw. The agreement signed in some cases with these corporate sponsors is quite ridiculous when compared to what they do with other countries. A typical example is the Nike deal for the sponsorship of our jerseys when compared to what was signed with Brazil, yes it is true Brazil is a bigger brand but what stops the NFF from asking for a package quite close to what Brazil enjoys. UNICEF sponsors Barcelona FC jerseys though for a noble course but the multiplier effect of this action on their corporate image and competitive edge is great. NFF could partner these corporate firms and help in rendering corporate social responsibility to the country and also enjoy good sponsorship drive. Hosting of matches are left in the hands of state government who end up using tax payers money and in other sphere turn these matches to political harassment to settle scores with the opposition all aimed at political gratification. It is high time the NFF sets up a functional marketing department headed by a season administrator who can attract sponsors and investors from both within and outside the country and until this is done, our country football will remain at the mercies of politicians who know little about marketing.

 

REVAMPING OUR NATIONAL STADIUM

In the past I wrote an article about the neglect of the National Stadium Surulere Lagos. I mentioned the issues affecting the edifice and the need to bring it back to its lost glory and I am happy that the Sports Minister is thinking along the same direction with me. The recent directives the minister gave on the need to put the swimming pool back to its original state is a welcome development and should be extended to other facilities in the stadium. The National Institute of Sports, the main bowl and the practice pitch should be given a new lease of life while the offices of the various association should be reinvigorated. The stadium when fully fixed should host major competitions and security which has being the bane of fans going there should be beefed up. It is quite interesting that competitions such as the GoTV Boxing Promotion and DSTV Basketball competitions is now a regular stay in the stadium and I hope other corporate organizations could join in re-building the lost glory of the stadium. For effective management the stadium should be under the management of private companies with government setting policies to guide its operation. There is the need to run the stadium as a company and with time after a profitable performance sold to the public. I hope the dream of returning the National Stadium Surulere Lagos to its lost glory is brought to fruition.

 

CHIEF ADEGBOYE ONIGBINDE an unsung HERO of Nigerian Football

When our lord Jesus Christ said a prophet is never accepted in his home, I have come to appreciate it more when I relate it with our FIFA instructor and Ambassador Chief Adegboye Onigbinde. Truth must be told the contribution made by him when it comes to football matters and papers written by him over the years has been neglected by our football authorities. Chief Ongbinde mentioned the need to have a viable technical department fully equipped in our NFF Glass house but this has never materialized. He mentioned the need to have a developmental program but this never been done, he mentioned the need to have a recruitment process for all level of our football but it was never done. He mentioned the need to have a football timetable that reflects what exist in other established football association but our NFF have failed to align our football in this regard. Chief Adegboye Onigbinde represents FIFA through courses/programs organized for member nations which we are one and we fail to see his relevance to our football development. Recently I read the comments he made about our Chief coach Sunday Oliseh and I agree with him absolutely on his comments which shows that our NFF is still operating as an inexperienced federation. The following questions needs answers: Why does the NFF neglects Chief Onigbindes advice? Who could get the country closer to FIFA than our own person? Who could teach us better the technical know-how in football than our own son? Why is Chief Onigbinde so important and relevant to FIFA, their Technical Committee matters and politics? What is the relevance of Technical matters in modern day football? These are issues that must be looked into with the hope that Chief Adegboye Onigbindes view will be respected.

 

 

NIGERIA AND DAVIES CUP COMPETITION

Recently Great Britain through Andrew Murray and his team mates won the Davies Cup after many unsuccessful years. The feat has put the country back in the reckoning as a tennis playing nation. Nigeria has remained far behind when it comes to the sport and this need to be rectified. Our tennis standard has fallen to an all-time low and if nothing is done urgently, our relevance will not be felt anymore. The country need to go back to the grassroots and develop school sports. Our youths through the NTF should feature prominently in WTA and ITF sponsored circuit competitions to get points and improve our rankings. There is the need to have foreign technical assistance and massive enlightenments and training. For the country to produce champions, we need lots of competitions and finance therefore corporate bodies should be involved from the onset. There is the need to bring to bear the experience of our retired champions especially to impact their knowledge on the youths. Davies Cup is a dream that can be achieved all we need is to change our attitude and actions towards tennis and the sky will be our limit.

 

CRICKET AND NIGERIAN SPORTS

Nigeria is not represented actively in the community of cricket playing nations and this is very sad. The reason for this is based on the failure of our Cricket Association to take the necessary steps to take the sport further to the grassroots. During the colonial era, the established missionary schools such as St Finbarr’s and Kings College produced talents who later became champions but the achievements at that level was not expanded to reach the international stage. In Nigerian schools today, only very few still play cricket and this has affected the acceptability of the sport to the younger generation. It is therefore imperative that The Nigerian Cricket Association develop a strategy to encourage the growth through the following:

• Invite foreign instructors from well-known cricket playing country to train our youths in the sport.
• Develop a synergy between academics and cricket especially for the younger generation.
• Invite corporate sponsors and provide the enabling environment to drive the sport
• Attaching a reward system that will motivate the youths to get involved
• Train our officials on the modern day trend in the sports
• Use the media to promote the sports especially at each level of the sports growth and development.

It is my believe that when these actions are taken that Cricket will be accepted at all levels.

 

CYCLING AS A MEDAL WINNING SPORT

Cycling in major communities in Nigeria remains a means of transportation and this is very popular especially in our rural areas. Cycling has never achieved the status of being a prominent sport in the country and this factor is responsible for its low level of acceptability. The Nigerian Cycling Federation needs to do a lot to develop the sport and it all starts from proper enlightenment and dedication to the sport. When the sport starts growing just the way it should then Nigeria can produce cyclist who will compete in Tour de France, Tour de Italia and the Olympics. With this in mind Cycling will be seen as a sport and not just a recreational exercise sport. Countries like Great Britain, United States and Italy have built a reputation and won many medals for themselves it is therefore time for us to look into cycling in anticipation of what the country will gain from it. I am of the opinion that if the Nigerian Cycling Federation puts their acts together and with proper planning, dedication and sponsorship very soon we will start producing world class champions such as Chris Froom and Alberto Contador.

Back to the Basis for Nigerian Football

The time has come for the NFF and all soccer loving Nigerians to take a second look at our football. For more than 20 years we are yet to have football development rather we use the last minute rush to manage our football and the result is clear for everyone to see. Countries like Cape Verde, Mozambique, Ethiopia and even Niger are now working very hard to dislodge us and the worry part is our ranking keeps dropping. The transition of our teams is not seamless and our players are being lured to play for other countries. The facilities are going out of extinction and the welfare package for our players is nothing to boast about. Our players feature for least known leagues in the world and we are never mentioned in African Football great. The best legs we have are never encouraged and politics and infighting is killing the growth of the game. Our youths cannot grow their football at the highest level and success is now measured by them on the ratio of how much you earn and not the impact you make on the pitch. With our current attitude, we may never produce players like Messi or Ronaldo and it will be a shame as we have talents waiting to be discovered. It is time our administrators pull the bull by the horn and stop the lip service they exhibit daily a word is enough for the wise.

The Nigerian Football Federation and Sunday Oliseh a relationship gone sour

The current controversy rocking Nigerian football is taking a different dimension and if nothing is done, our fortunes will dwindle more. It is a known fact that all is not well between our coach Sunday Oliseh and his employers Nigerian Football Federation and the attitude being displayed by both parties leaves little to be desired. It is quite unfortunate that for more than 20 years all coaches employed by the NFF have failed to have a cordial relationship with them and the impact of these actions are our low performance recorded in football especially at the national team level. Questions that needs answers are these, why is our administrators not learning from the well established ones in Europe and what do they hope to achieve when they campaign and lobby to become NFF officials. On the part of the coaches, why do they fail to take corrections when the need arises and who is responsible for their failures, is it the players or the soccer administrators. The country is about engaging themselves in both the nations cup and world cup qualifiers and if nothing is done to find a lasting solution to these recurring problems, our qualification will rest squarely in the hands of God.