Sports
Nigeria Doesn’t Need Foreign Technical Director –Amodu
Former Super Eagles coach, Shaibu Amodu, has called on football administrators in the country to shelve the idea of appointing a foreigner as technical director.
Amodu, while speaking with journalists, said the problem with Nigerian football lay in the hands of all stakeholders and “no foreigner is required”.
“The problem of our football rests in our hands and until we become very sincere with ourselves by putting the right person in the right place, we will not get it right.
“Even if we go out 20 times to bring the best foreign coaches or technical directors, it won’t change any situation.
“If the Nigeria Football Association (NFF) has the intention of bringing in a foreign technical director, as it is in the pipeline now, I think it should shelve that idea,” he said.
The association is expected to name a technical director soon and some foreigners have had discussions with officials of the football house.
Amodu said if the association eventually appointed a foreigner, it would amount to disrespect for the numerous experienced Nigerian coaches who are now coaching resource persons.
“I don’t know why they will neglect the coaching resource persons in this country and go out for a foreign technical director.
“That is a measure of lack of respect for all that we have done for our football and that is not being fair.
“I have said it before that we don’t need a foreign person to help the NFA’s Technical Department to right the wrongs of our football.
“The football administrators have to get real down to business to make sure that they put the proper plan in place and put the right people in the right position.
“They will also have to fund the game at the grassroots level and we will begin to get the results”, he said.
The former Super Eagles coach described the NFA’s move as a repetition of history which the country should have learnt from.
“I think what they are trying to do again is a repetition of what we have always done to show more respect to a white man than to a black man.
“As I said some years back, it’s been a problem of inferiority complex on the part of our administrators and I say it’s generic.
“It has repeated itself times without number and each time they want to blindfold Nigerians, they try to bury this foreign person thing around it.
“The psychology seems to be sticky that we think things are going to be right if we see a white person.
“Not until things go wrong again, we begin to say the person was not right for us and he should leave. But he will have no regrets because he must have taken our money already.
“History has not taught us anything as a nation and that is why we keep on making mistakes,” Amodu said.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor
The President of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Ibrahim Gusau, has decried the state of playing pitches in Nigeria yesterday saying only one stadium can host grade A matches in the country.
The NFF President, who spoke yesterday shortly after accompanying Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State to inspect ongoing total rehabilitation work at the Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi, expressed delight over the standard of work being done by the contractor.
He commended Governor Alia for undertaking the total rehabilitation of the stadium noting “I am very impressed with what am seeing on ground.
“You all know that for now, you can play grade A match, which is Super Eagles matches in Nigeria only in Uyo stadium. It is becoming a major source of worry for me and other Nigerians that in a country like Nigeria, we have only one stadium where we can play grade A matches.
“So when I heard that the Governor has awarded contract for the upgrade of facilities at the Aper Aku Stadium, I hurriedly came to talk to him to see the extent to which we can come in to assist and I must confirm that I am really happy with what I have seen on ground.
“We have our Technical Director here who will be working hand in hand with the contractors to ensure that everything is done correctly so that in the nearest future, we can have an alternative stadium for Super Eagles matches and that alternative should be Makurdi.
“With the commitment of the governor I know it is going to be possible and by the grace of God, we will do everything to support him to achieve the dream.
On his drive to resusitate grassroot football development, the NFF President said, “part of my campaign promises was to see how we can develop football at the grassroots and part of the process to develop grassroots football is to organise under 15 and the under 17 Governors Cup Competitions and it is not only in Benue State.
