‘Nigeria’s Absence At AFCON, Good Dev’

A don, Dr Babatunde Asagba, has described the absence of Nigeria’s Super Eagles at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as a good development for African football.

The continental biennial competition is being co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

“Nigeria’s absence at the competition is not a big deal but a good development for African football,’’ Asagba, the Head, Department of Human Kinetics and Physical Education, University of Ibadan, said.

Asagba, a member, Confederation of African Football (CAF) Referees Committee, disclosed this earlier in the week in Ibadan at a forum of the Oyo State Chapter of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN).

He said that in spite of Nigeria’s absence, the level of technical and tactical abilities exhibited by teams during the group phase of the competition was high.

“When are we going to stop fooling ourselves by thinking that Nigeria’s absence at the Africa Cup of Nations is of any negative significance on the championship?

“The truth is that we do not deserve to be at the current edition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea because we did not play well and so could not qualify.

“Let us stop asking people about the impact of our absence, for there is none. The competition is on and those who enjoy good football are having fun.

“Although Super Eagles’ absence is painful to soccer-loving Nigerians, our teams would be subsequently better for it,’’ Asagba, a retired FIFA referee said.

“The development is an indication that there are no minnows again in African football.

“It is also a good lesson for our players and football administrators who still handled preparations for some matches against other countries considered to be minnows with kid gloves.’’

According to him, Nigeria’s sports administrators, players and stakeholders must have learnt a lesson from the development, the hard way.