Sports
NFA, Players Guilty Over Bonus Row – Panel
The Ministerial Panel on
“Review of Players’ Bonuses” has indicted players and technical crew of the Super Eagles over the recent bonus row that broke out in the team.
Minister of Sports, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, had on July 11 inaugurated the seven-member panel.
The panel was set up to unearth the causes of the bonus row which broke out after a World Cup qualifier between the Super Eagles and the Brave Warriors of Namibia.
The players had insisted on their full winning bonus of $5,000 (about N805,000) in spite of drawing the match in Namibia, while the NFA offered them $2,500 (about N402,500).
The panel was headed by Mr Segun Adeniyi, former Special Adviser to late President Umaru Yar’Adua while Mr Shehu Dikko served as its secretary.
Adeniyi, while presenting the report to the minister of sports said mutual distrust by the parties concerned and indiscipline on the part of some players sparked the row.
He said that lack of quality leadership by those in charge of the players’ affair at the time of the crisis which broke out in Namibia also contributed to the row.
The former presidential aide pointed out that officials of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Eagles captain Joseph Yobo and six home-based players, were spoken to before the conclusion of the report.
“One thing was clear from all the submissions made to our panel and the interactive session we held with critical stakeholders.
“This is, that the Super Eagles who were handsomely rewarded by Nigerians for winning the Africa Cup of Nations in February could not appreciate the implication of embarrassing their country.
“The technical crew members conveniently looked the other way because of their own pecuniary and vested interests.
“The football administration was also tardy in the manner in which it handled communication on the bonus issue by not formally conveying its decisions to the players ahead of the tournament,’’ Adeniyi said.
Adeniyi criticised a situation where players put incentive first rather than see invitation to the national team as a privilege and honour.
He expressed regret that bonus payment had over the years been mismanaged by all the parties involved resulting in avoidable crises that had desecrated the image of the country.
“From the 1994 World Cup qualifying matches to the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Mali, to the recent case in Namibia, bonus row has been a recurring challenge for our football administration.
“I want to say that the real incentive for any footballer invited to the national team is principally the privilege and pride of wearing the national colours of his or her country.
“This is to the extent that bonus payment should really not be an issue.
“In most countries, it is usually determined by the football administration according their financial standing and the importance of the matches at hand,’’ Adeniyi added.
Meanwhile, Sports analyst Jide Fashikun, has urged the sports minister not to implement the report of the panel on the bonus row.
Fashikun in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) observed that the report, if implemented could tear the team’s World Cup qualifying campaign apart.
He noted that the report which contained “Code of Conduct for Players’’ was capable of infuriating foreign-based players who would form the nucleus of the world cup qualifying team.
Victor Iroele, another sports analyst advised the minister to delay the implementation of the report untill the end of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Iroele noted that any conclusion reached without the input of players such as Mikel Obi, Vincent Enyeama, Joseph Yobo and Emmanuel Emenike, among others could be counter-productive.
Sports
CAA Wants Ghana To Host 2026 Athletics Champions
The Confederation of African Athletics has invited Ghana to bid for the hosting rights of the 2026 African Athletics Championships, following a successful athletics event at the just concluded 2023 African Games.
President of Ghana Athletics, Bawa Fuseini, stated this and expressed confidence in the transformative potential of the Legon Stadium for athletes and Ghana’s bid to host international competitions.
With a capacity of 11,000, the Legon Stadium played a pivotal role in the recent African Games, hosting both the opening and closing ceremonies as well as various sporting events including athletics, football, and rugby.
Fuseini highlighted the success of the athletics events held at the stadium, which contributed to Ghana winning six medals.
“We have already started getting requests from the Confederation of African Athletics to bid for the 2026 African Athletics Championships.
“When they came and saw what we have put in place and the level of organisation, they told me that for the last 20 years, they’ve never seen any organisation like this before. We did three official courses. And the last one, we had 110, all of them passed. We had a lot of officials and equipment.”
Since its establishment in 1979, Ghana has never hosted the African Athletics Championships, with Nigeria being the host country twice, in 1989 and 2018.
This year, Cameroon will take the reins as the host nation, with the event set to be held at the Olembe Stadium.
Sports
‘I’m Not Under Pressure To Coach Eagles’
Finidi George, head coach of the Nigeria Premier Football Leagues side, Enyimba, has stated that he is not losing any sleep over getting the Super Eagles job on a permanent basis.
Early this month, the Nigeria Football Federation declared the position of the Super Eagles’ head coach vacant, following the exit of Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who led the side to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup Nations in Ivory Coast in February.
In an advertisement on its website calling for applications with a March 13 deadline, the football governing body stated that the prospective Eagles coach “must have proven experience at the elite level of football.”
The former Ajax man, who also applied for the job, was appointed Eagles interim coach for the international window with the former winger picking a win and suffering a defeat.
In an interview with Tidesports source, the 52-year-old tactician said he was not desperate for the job permanently.
“I felt really good when I was told to take charge of the team. I have been with the team for almost two years, I know all the players, their strengths, and their weaknesses but I am only here to serve Nigeria the way I know how to do stuff.
“I will just take these two games and go back to my club. Whatever the decision is taken after, so be it. I’m not under pressure to say I must get the role permanently.”
Sports
‘Reasons Why Eagles Lost To Mali’
The friendly games against Ghana and Mali were to serve as an audition for George Finidi, who was in charge of the team on an interim basis, but the Eagles’ lacklustre display in those friendlies has called for his further evaluation.
Finidi kept faith with ex-coach Jose Peseiro’s defensive formation against Mali on the back of his first win (against Ghana) in charge of the team four days earlier.
But this time, his defence was punished following a combination of defensive errors and poor passes.
The Eagles struggled to play out of defence due to the high pressing of the Malians and it was no surprise that the first goal by Les Aigles was a direct result of their aggression.
Chidozie Awaziem, who started on the right of the back three alongside Kenneth Omeruo and Semi Ajayi, lacked composure and was pressured into making a pass across his box straight at Bilal Toure, who made no mistake in getting the ball past Stanley Nwabali. They missed the calming presence of injured William Troost-Ekong.
Vice captain, Kenneth Omeruo, was also culpable of misplaced passes and was beaten for pace when Kamory Doumbia ran past him to seal Mali’s first win in over four decades, firing his shot past a helpless Nwabali, who stood no chance.
Eagles wing backs, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Jamilu Collins also did not do enough to support the team in attack when they had the chance to.
Lack of creativity
Finidi paired Raphael Onyedika and Wilfred Ndidi in a double pivot in midfield. Both players are naturally anchor men and neither is a box-to-box midfielder.
They both do not possess the offensive capability to drive the team’s attack forward, which left the Eagles once again craving for a natural creative midfielder.
-
Maritime4 days ago
NPA To Generate N629bn Revenue In 2024 -MD
-
News4 days ago
Osun Govt Sets Up Committee To Tackle Fake News, Cyber Bullying
-
Rivers2 days ago
Andoni Stakeholders Endorse Fubara’s Administration
-
Sports2 days ago
African Games: Nigerian Women Athletes Make Country Proud Again
-
Nation12 hours ago
Bauchi Rewards Community With 200 Bags Of Rice For Preventing Looting
-
News7 hours ago
Ex-NBA Publicity Secretary Appears In Court For Allegedly Stealing Stabiliser
-
Entertainment6 hours ago
BBNaija Season Nine: ‘Dynamic Duos’ Auditions Begin
-
Politics4 days ago
Ekwueme Could Have Been President, Ganduje Tells S’East