Sports
Mixed Reactions Trail Siasia’s Sack
Mixed reactions have started to trail the sack of Nigeria Super Eagles Coach, Samson Siasia, last Friday, by the board of Nigeria Football Federation.
The action of NFF was occasioned by the inability of Siasia to qualify the national team, for the forthcoming Orange Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to be co-hosted by Gabon and Equitorial Gunea, January, next year.
In his reactions, the Chief Coach of Sharks FC, Port Harcourt, Imama Amapakabo, said the contracted agreement should be respected, adding that the sack of Siasia was based on the terms of agreement.
According to him, Siasia is not the problem, but the structures of Nigeria football, adding that NFF has failed to address the fundamental problems.
“The issue is not the coach we are failing to address the real problem, what is our league like? Amapakabo asked?
Amapakabo stated that the major problem facing the country is lack of developmental programmes for football in the country.
“How many Nigerian players that plays in first team in their various clubs abroad? You can imagine in our local league there are no credible personal to take our football to the next level in terms of administration and technically.
In his view, the Chief Coach of Rivers state football Association, Tony Chuku, said that the sack is justified as Siasia signed in agreement with NFF to qualify the Eagles for Nations Cup pointing out that his failure was no body’s fault.
“I believed in agreement and as he signed the agreement with NFF to qualify us, since he has failed, he will be sacked because agreement is agreement” he said.
Meanwhile former Enugu Rangers skipper and national team invitee Ndubisi Ajomiwe, said that the NFA had no moral right to sack the beleaguered coach.
“Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the nation’s cup was caused mainly by the ineptitude of the NFA so it should also give way for the nation’s football to be repositioned.
“It will be difficult for a new coach to succeed under the defective structure put in place by the NFA, so the changes should be holistic.’’
Chief Adol Awam, foremost sports promoter in the state, supported Siasia’s sack, noting that the Eagles needed a coach who could effectively manage the players considering their complex orientation.
“The deplorable situation of our football warrants the appointment of a coach who would command the respect of the players and make them understand the significance of playing for the national team.
“Siasia failed in his assignment because he saw the players as rivals, on whom he must enforce discipline without recourse to diplomacy or other friendly means.”
Nicodemus Omenka, a former Ebonyi Commissioner for Youths and Sports, however, condemned Siasia’s sack, saying that he could have been allowed to correct his mistakes.
“Siasia started a rebuilding process of the team which ought to have been given some time to materialise.
“His antecedents with the various national teams show that he could have identified his shortcomings and fashioned out modalities that would bring back the glorious days of our football,’’ he said.
Ifeyinwa Ezeakum, a member of Ebonyi female football team, called on the NFA to appoint a foreign coach for the Falcons to return the team’s dominance on the African continent.
“Female football globally has gone above the knowledge of local coaches, so a reputable foreign manager is needed to infuse the desired technical input into the team,” she said.
Technical Director, Awka United FC of Uyo, Charles Bassey, has welcomed the sack of Super Eagles Coach, Samson Siasia, by the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) saying “the decision was justified.”
Siasia was relieved of his appointment over the weekend by the Executive Committee of the NFA over his inability to qualify the team for the Africa Nations Cup.
Bassey, a former coach of defunct Mobil Pegasus FC of Eket, told the Tidesports over the weekend in Uyo that Siasia did not live up to the terms of his contract.
“He was doing well initially but later lost grip. He had a problem of quarrelling with the players.
“Players are your tools. If you scold them, you later draw them close to yourself again.
“Siasia is, however, growing, this is a big lesson to him. In future he will be able to handle situations properly,” Bassey said.
He said that the problem of Nigerian football was not that of coaching alone.
“NFA also needs to search itself. We need a good league system to enable us select good players,” Bassey said.
Also reacting to the sack of Siasia, the Akwa Ibom Chairman of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Mr Uwem Ekoh, said the decision of the NFA was a welcome development.
“The decision is a way of moving forward. Siasia was too concerned about discipline in the team to the detriment of other considerations, so let him rest,” Ekoh said.
In the same vein, Former Nigeria Football Association (NFA) Technical Director, Kashimawo Laloko, and Super Falcons coach, Paul Hamilton, have backed the sack of the Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia.
The two coaches, however, warned the NFA against employing foreign coaches for the national teams.
The executive committee of the NFA last Friday sacked Siasia after ratifying the decision of the technical committee at their extra-ordinary meeting in Abuja.
Hamilton, who had also handled the Green Eagles, said that it was expected that Siasia would be sacked following his inability to qualify Nigeria for the 2012 Africa Nation‘s Cup.
While maintaining that Siasia‘s sack was not the solution to the problem,they added that hiring a foreign coach would be a mistake.
“NFA employed Siasia and as far as he could not keep to the terms of the contract, then he should not be surprised at the decision.
“The NFA should go back to the drawing board to know where we got it wrong, then proffer solution because foreign coaches cannot give us the solution,’’ Hamilton said.
Reacting to the disengagement of Siasia, Laloko, the proprietor, Pepsi Football Academy, said that it was not a surprise that he was sacked.
He, however , advised against the employment of foreign coaches, stressing that local coaches would perform better if given adequate international training.
“Siasia had many assumptions. In that kind of job, one needs patience, concentration, perseverance and a heart of forgiveness.
“Our coaches need adequate international training and FIFA licence to perform better. Even Siasia is not FIFA licenced,’’ Laloko said.
He advised the NFA to go to the grassroots to scout for viable players for football to take a new shape in the country.
The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria ( SWAN) Rivers State Chapter has set up five standing working committees on Tuesday, in its general congress.
At the playoff held at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan, the team of Canice Abua, Michael Emmanuel, Daniel Adeleye, and Abubakar Yusuf was majestic as they restored Nigeria’s hope in a sport that once gave the country so much joy.
Speaking after the final game, Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) President, Victor Ochei, said the Davis Cup feat is the stepping stone to better days in the sport, adding that the federation has set up programmes that will help the budding talents across the country play at the same level as their counterparts in other tennis-developed countries.
Ochei said: “The whole aim of having this new board is to lift the sport to the level we used to be. I tell you, tennis is taking a new shape in Nigeria. We are putting everything and anything to make that work happen.”
Ochei said that the NTF has looked at sponsorships and how to get the emerging players compete at the same level with their peers elsewhere, adding that the federation is working on organising local competitions and helping the players to compete in international championships.
“We believe that with what we are doing now, sponsors will come to us to organise new competitions. But beyond that, there’s a strategic growth development plan, a 10-year development plan, which the board is working on.
“The programme will ensure that we catch them young. This is because we believe that to create champions, we must start grooming them early. The champions you are seeing today were those groomed yesterday.”
“The process of building new champions will include building the coaches, the players, the infrastructure and sensitising the parents so that we can start catching them as young as age five to six.
“By the time that we groom them through 10 years of training, at age 15, 16, you will see fantastic professional players.”
To achieve the federation’s plans, Ochei admits that the NTF needs a lot of investment, adding that the board is working at realising the funds quietly and tenaciously.
The NTF president acknowledged the contributions of former international stars like Nduka Odizor and Sadiq Abdullahi to the bid to rejuvenate Nigerian tennis, adding that NTF is open to collaborating with former players who know what it takes to play at the highest level of the sport.
He said, “Nduka Odizor is around as one of our VIP personalities. He has been psyching up the boys in the battle with Uzbekistan. He will not enter the court to play, but his mere presence is enough motivation to the boys, who will want to be like him in the future.
“You see, the type of support the Odizors, the Imonities and the Abdullahis got in their time is no longer there, but we are revamping it with the support of our stakeholders in the Diaspora.
“It will appear to take us some time, but I can tell you that the Diaspora support is massive.”
In its bid to get good results in this year’s Commonwealth Games, the National Sports Commission (NSC) has disbursed N200 million as training grants to 26 athletes.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland.
The NSC stated that the grants were disbursed through its Elite and Podium Board, noting that N200 million was allocated to select top-performing athletes.
The beneficiaries are both foreign-based and home-based, the NSC said, adding that it will cater for their training and preparation expenses.
According to the NSC, the recipients span several sports, including athletics, wrestling, weightlifting, and para-sports, in line with the Commission’s mandate to prioritise athletes’ welfare and high-performance development.
The Commission added that the disbursement follows the establishment of the Elite and Podium Board, created to implement a scientific and institutionalised support system aimed at sustaining peak performances by Nigerian athletes at major international competitions.
NSC Director General, Bukola Olopade, said the Commission, under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was established to restore confidence and provide renewed hope for Nigerian sportsmen and women by placing strong emphasis on athlete welfare.
“The training grants disbursed to 26 athletes across different sports followed a careful and professional selection process by the Yusuf Ali-led Elite and Podium Board. This is our way of reassuring our athletes that their welfare remains our utmost priority,” he said.
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