Sports
Sports: Grappling With Mixed Fortunes
The Sports Sector in Nigeria has always been viewed as one
of the areas of national life that should put the country among the top players
in Africa and the world.
With a population of over 150 million people, the expectation
may not be out of place considering the potentials we are endowed with.
But after 52 years of nation-hood, the sector and indeed
expectations have been a mixed tale of raised hopes disappointments, heartache
and outright embarrassment.
From the 1964 Tokyo Olympics where Nigeria made her Olympic
debut with Nojim Maiyegun winning bronze, the country’s only medal at the Games
in boxing 61-71kg category, the Atlanta 1996 Games where we recorded our best
performance in the history of the Games with two gold, one silver and three
bronze medals to the recently concluded London 2012 Games where the country’s
athletes flopped abysmally, it has been a case of one step forward and several
steps backward.
To date, Nigeria has won a meagre 23 medals a total of two
gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze medals in nine Olympic outings from 1964 in Tokyo
to 2012 in London.
The London 2012 Games marked the highest point of the
country’s slide into the precipice of sports ignominy.
Team Nigeria had raised hopes of a good outing owing to the
performances of Nigeria’s athletes like Blessing Okagbare, Damola Osayemi,
Chika Chukwumerije, the weightlifting and boxing prior to the Games.
Unfortunately, all of them flattered to deceive and the
country left the Games empty handed to the utter embarrassment of the
Government and People of Nigeria.
The humiliation was so much that a national inquest was
called and President Goodluck Jonathan
moved to take concrete steps to restructure and reposition the sports sector.
Contrastingly, the country’s sportsmen and women have farred
better in the Commonwealth Games where it has achieved medal success in every
Games that it participated in, with the 1994 edition in Victoria the most
successful to date. The country achieved 37 podium places, harvesting 11 gold,
13 silver and 13 bronze medals.
Nigeria made its Commonwealth Games debut in 1950 finishing
with a solitary silver medal in men’s high jump, while the Federal Republic of
Nigeria officially joined the Commonwealth in
1960.
To date, the country has recorded a total haul of 176 medals
involving 50 gold, 55 silver and 71 bronze medals.
However, the most pleasing performance by Nigerian athletes
came from the recently concluded London 2012 Paralympics Games.
Where the able bodied athletes went and failed woefully,
physically challenged Nigerians stormed London determined to make up for their
compatriots’ earlier disappointment.
At the end of the day, the Paralympians won six gold medals
and a couple of silver and bronze.
Indeed, the Paralympians, with their performance, have made
giant strides that opened a vista to the potentials of the physically
challenged in our society.
However, despite the current elixir in the country
occasioned by the glorious performance of the paralympic contingent, the truth
remains that our sports can achieve much more glory than it has dared to since
independence.
Football in Nigeria, in spite of being one of the uniting
factors has nose-dived in terms of quality, achievement and organisation.
The Nigerian Premier League, touted as one of the best in
the country which ordinary should supply national team materials to respective
national sides is enmeshed in myriad of problems.
From leadership squabbles leading to litigations to poor
organisation, poor funding and lack of sponsorships, the league is currently in
shambles looking for identity.
Consequently, the clubsides can hardly hold their own in
Continental club competitions.
Apart from Enyimba International FC, Aba no other Nigerian
side has been able to cart home the slite club competition in the continent the
CAF Champion League.
Only four others, Rangers, shooting stars sports club, 3SC
Lobi Stars and Bendel Insurance have been able to bring home glory in the
second and third class competitions.
The situation in the national teams is not different from
that of the league.
Gone are the days when the national teams, be it the Super
Eagles, Flying Eagles, Olympic Eagles and the Golden Eaglets steamrolled them
and instilled fear in opponents even before matches were played.
Now, the national teams, especially, the Super Eagles
struggle to qualify for tournaments despite having immeasureable potentials on
paper.
Apart from the women football teams, Super Falcons,
Falconents and the flaminigoes, who have given Nigerians something to cheer in
the game, from the African women Championships, FIFA women’s U-20 and U-17
World cups, football in Nigeria has been marred by poor performance and
near-success syndrome.
After failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany,
the Super Eagles Failed to fly at the South Africa 2010 World Cup, the first to
be held in Africa and capped it all by failing to qualify for the 2012 Africa
Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, which saw the untimely exist of
coach Samson Siasia as the national team gaffer.
The youth teams have also found it tough re-enacting the
nation’s glory days of the 1980’s and 1990s.
But the trend had not always been like this. It is believed
that the major problem with sports in Nigeria is that of policy implementation,
inadequate funding, selfish administrators and poor infrastr4uture.
It is no longer news that Sports facilities across Nigeria
are in terrible shape and this in no small way has affected the development of
Sports in the country.
Poor management of facilities and poor preparations have
been largely responsible for the poor performance of the nation’s Sportsmen and
women in both continental and world championships, making it difficult to
develop and inject fresh blood into Team Nigeria’s contingent.
The situation has even worsened to the extent that the
entire country can only boast of one stadium, U.J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar,
good enough to host Super Eagles’ International matches.
The Abuja National Stadium built about 10 years ago at the
cost of N57.6 billion of tax payers money and others like it is today best
described as a national embarrassment in terms of maintenance.
But all hope is not lost. Nigeria is endowed with abundant
manpower and resources that if the current restructuring effort is followed up
sincerely, the country has the capacity to bounce back and reclaim its place in
the continent and the world.
According to the President, Sports Writers Association of
Nigeria, SWAN, Saidu Abubakar, “until and unless the right things are done
starting from the statutes, especially that of the Nigeria football federation,
NFF, and their elections, coupled with intensifying school Sports and credible
league without government owned clubs, we shall remain where we have been since
the advent of professional soccer and modern Games”.
For the Team Manager of ABS FC, Ilorin, Alloy Chukwuemeka,
faulty Sports Policy and government’s overbearing influence have been the major
bane of the sector.
He however, stated the need for all relevant stakeholders in
the industry to come together to fashion out a new policy framework to chart a
new course via an all indusive sports summit.
However, the expected Sports revolution in Nigeria may have
begun if the decisions of the body, Nigeria Academicals Sports Committee,
NASCOM, recently formed by the National Sports Commission, NSC, on the
directive of President Goodluck Jonathan to revive grassroots Sports through
the schools, are implemented.
According to the committee six national grassroots
championships for academicals in Football, Swimming, Basketball, Tennis, Table
tennis and Track & Field have been put forward with the aim of eradicating
age cheats and keeping the supply line of national athletes open and running.
Nigeria’s sports is indeed full of potentials but the
dividend can only be reaped when the right policies and committed
administrators are made to succeed.
Andrea Cambiaso scored at both ends during the first half of Saturday’s Derby d’Italia, before Pierre Kalulu’s red card forced Juventus to play the entire second half a man light.
Substitute Francesco Pio Esposito got Inter back in front with a bullet header, then Manuel Locatelli’s pinpoint finish looked to have salvaged a point for the Bianconeri, before Zielinski struck on the cusp of stoppage time.
Juventus made the brighter start, but they were masters of their own downfall in the 17th minute, when Cambiaso deflected Luis Henrique’s cross beyond Michele Di Gregorio.
Cambiaso atoned within nine minutes, catching Henrique on his heels when Weston McKennie’s cross squirmed through to the back post and applying a side-footed finish.
But after Bremer cleared Zielinski’s dinked effort off the line, Juve’s hopes were damaged when Kalulu received his second yellow card for a 42nd-minute pull on Alessandro Bastoni, though the Inter centre-back appeared to go down theatrically.
Di Gregorio made a remarkable stop to thwart Hakan Calhanoglu, but as Juventus dropped ever deeper, they were punished when substitute Esposito guided Federico Dimarco’s searching cross into the far corner with 76 minutes on the clock.
It looked like Inter would have to settle for a point when Locatelli whipped a wonderful finish into the bottom-left corner in the 83rd minute, but Zielinski had the final say as his 20-yard drive fizzed through Locatelli’s legs and beat Di Gregorio.
A cloud of uncertainty has settled over Liverpool after comments from Hungary head coach Marco Rossi reignited speculation about Dominik Szoboszlai and Real Madrid.
Rossi, who has worked closely with Szoboszlai since his teenage years, revealed that the midfielder’s lifelong ambition is to play for the Spanish giants.
“Because of the very close and direct relationship I’ve had with Dominik since he was a child, Real Madrid has always been his dream,” Rossi said.
For a Liverpool side building around Szoboszlai as a centerpiece of Arne Slot’s project, those words landed hard.
Within hours of Rossi’s remarks, Szoboszlai interacted on social media with two Real Madrid players, applauding posts from Vinicius Junior and Trent Alexander-Arnold following Madrid’s win over Real Sociedad.
His reaction to Vinicius’ post drew particular attention. The exchange with Alexander-Arnold, his former Liverpool teammate, was seen as less surprising.
Still, in the hyper-connected world of elite soccer, even a digital thumbs-up can carry weight. On Merseyside, fans and pundits quickly began dissecting the meaning behind the interactions.
Szoboszlai, Hungary’s captain, has become one of Liverpool’s most influential players. That status is precisely why Rossi’s comments triggered such an intense reaction in England.
The midfielder had just delivered on the field as well, scoring in Liverpool’s 3-0 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield.
After the match, Mohamed Salah heaped praise on his teammate, calling Szoboszlai “the best player in the world.” Slot struck a slightly more measured tone but echoed the sentiment.
“I think there are many elite players in the world, but I definitely agree with Mo that he is one of them,” Slot said. “He is very important for us.”
Szoboszlai is under contract at Liverpool through 2028. However, the club is reportedly eager to open extension talks in the coming months to secure his long-term future.
The player himself addressed the situation recently with notable candor.
“There’s nothing yet, to be honest. Nothing from now on. It’s not in my hands. That’s how it works,” he said. “There’s no progress, but if the right offer comes, we’ll see.”
He was equally clear about his affection for Liverpool.
“We’ll see what happens. Hopefully everyone will be happy in the end. Of course I want to stay. I like the city, I like the club, I like playing with these guys. I love Anfield, I love the fans. Let’s see what the future brings. It’s not my fault. I’d love to stay. We’ll see.”
Inter’s dramatic victory boosted their lead over rivals AC Milan to eight points, ahead of the Rossoneri hosting Como on Wednesday. Juventus, meanwhile, could drop out of the top four as Roma visited Napoli last night.
The last four Serie A matches between Inter and Juventus have produced a total of 21 goals (an average of 5.25 per game), compared to just nine in the previous six (1.5 per game).
Cambiaso became the first player in Derby d’Italia history to score and put through his own net in the same match between these old rivals, but it was Zielinski’s fifth Serie A goal of the season that proved decisive.
Inter will argue they were deserved victors after amassing 21 shots and 1.88 expected goals (xG), while Luciano Spalletti’s visitors mustered 10 shots and 0.92 xG – though the Bianconeri actually attempted six of their shots while down a man in the second half.
Premier League strugglers Wolves overcame resolute Grimsby Town in challenging conditions at Blundell Park to reach the FA Cup fifth round at the expense of the side that eliminated Manchester United in the last round.
Santiago Bueno scored from Wolves’ only shot on target with an hour played, diverting Joao Gomes’ cross past goalkeeper Jackson Smith with his thigh to end the League Two club’s resistance.
Unrelenting rainfall caused heavy ground underfoot and one penalty area in particular- that of Grimsby’s Smith in the first half – was already a quagmire before kick-off.
Charles Vernam shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box with just 43 seconds on the clock as Grimsby sought to catch their top-flight visitors cold.
Wolves had to wait until the 17th minute for their first opportunity of note, forward Tolu Arokodare firing over with a first-time attempt.
The white paint of the pitch markings soon blended and blurred with the mud as the surface rapidly deteriorated, and both sides struggled to stitch together cohesive attacks as passes travelled unpredictably across the sodden ground.
