Ex-Footballers Seek Peace, Progress Among Stakeholders

The Concerned Football
Stakeholders of Nigeria led by Clement Temile has hosted former and present footballers in Lagos to re-unite warring factions in the football family.
The Concerned Football Stakeholders, who include Peter Rufai, Segun Oguns, Sam Otis and Mattias Enebili among others, are soliciting for “one family’’ for former and present footballers in the country.
The forum was tagged ‘’Roadmap on the Unification of Nigerian Players Union’’.
The group claimed it needed to unify and harmonise the body of Nigerian Footballers toward the pursuit and achievement of a common interest.
The President General of the Nigeria Football and Other Sports Supporters Club, Rafiu Ladipo, who was a guest at the forum, urged the football stakeholders to unite for a common goal.
He said that the reason why football in the country was not recording huge successes was as a result of in-fighting within caucuses.
According to him, this is caused by the tussle for leadership roles.
“There cannot be progress where there is infighting and factions try to prove each other’s standpoint or try to be leaders by all means.
“We have to come together to see that we all pursue the same common objective which is meant to be the good of all and not personal gratifications.
“Indeed, the process provided by the Concerned Football Stakeholders should be embraced and accepted as they present a clear picture for all factions to embrace peace and togetherness,” Ladipo said.
President Nigerian Olympians Association, Henry Amike said that, “it is such a great thing to see footballers come together and remain united.
“You must try to bury the hatchet and forge ahead, for a union under one body will track players and see the challenges facing them,” Amike said.
The patron of the occasion, Joe Erico applauded the development and urged the Harrison Jala, Austin Popo and Clement Temile led groups to come together as one body.
In the same vein, the leader of the National Association of Nigeria Footballers (NANF), Harrison Jata said that he was in support of the idea for all factions to come together.
“I am in support of what we are trying to achieve today; I will not be a stumbling block to a vision I have fought and stood for all my life,” he said.