Ex-Sports Minister Calls For Football Summit

A former Minister of
Sports Bala Ka’Oje,  has  called for an emergency football summit to chart a way forward for the dwindling fortune of football in the country.
Ka’Oje’s call came on the heels of the Super Eagles poor performance in the qualifying series for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The Eagles on Tuesday lost 1-2 on aggregate to Pharaohs of Egypt in Alexandria in the qualifier, having drawn 1-1 in the first leg in Kaduna.
Ka’Oje urged the current Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung to use the opportunity of the summit to reposition Nigeria’s football.
“Our failure to qualify for the 2017 AFCON means that we have a very serious problem, which calling for a football summit will be able to address.
“The summit will help football stakeholders know if the problem of our football is beyond NFF, and the way things are going, the NFF does not have the solution to the country’s football problem.
“This will be an opportunity for us to talk to ourselves, take a position and be able to implement it; we are tired of losing out in competitive games especially in Africa,’’ Ka’Oje said.
The former minister expressed regret that Nigeria had missed out on two consecutive AFCON tournaments, having failed to qualify for the 2015 edition in Equatorial Guinea.
“The summit should involve former sports ministers, former NFF presidents, including state commissioners of sports, among other stakeholders.
“It’s going to take many years for us to participate in AFCON if we do not look for solutions now; it’s a shame for a nation like Nigeria to be struggling like this in football.’’
Ka’Oje noted that the position the country found itself on the FIFA ranking was exactly what it deserved.
He noted that football development in the country had nosedived, saying that gone were the days when Nigeria was reckoned with in African football.
“FIFA is highly experienced and mind you, they are the global managers of football, so, they are watching every country’s perfor