Sports
Akanni Urges NRA To Ensure Credible NPFL Matches
Former Flying Eagles defender, Waidi Akanni, yesterday said that the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) should ensure that it uses its position to make the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) credible.
Akanni made the assertion in an interview with Tidesports in Lagos.
Akanni, a member of the 1985 bronze winning squad at the U-20 FIFA World Youth Championship in Moscow, told newsmen that the second stanza of the 2016/2017 NPFL should be devoid of bad officiating.
“Look at the first match of this season between FC Ifeanyi Uba and Kano Pillars, the match was abandoned by the Uba boys.
“This shouldn’t be happening with the calibre of League Management Company officials at that match, this goes to show that a lot still needs to be done.
“The LMC should not relent, sanctions should be meted out as it should; human error is inevitable but it should be at the barest minimum.
“The NRA needs to undergo reform, the future of NPFL rests on their shoulders because bad officiating can kill the morale of these players, and there is no league without the players,’’ he said.
The former defender, told newsmen that one of the issues that should be addressed before the second stanza kicks off is the condition of the playing turfs of clubs.
“At times, when you see some pitch, even on television you can see the deplorable state in which these players play.
“The LMC needs to start sanctioning clubs that do not have standard pitch, these are the little things that clubs should put into consideration before the season kicks off,’’ the former Lagos State FA Chairman said.
Akanni, who played for National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) FC of Lagos, said the maintenance of the stadium in which the matches were played would encourage viewers to come to the stadium.
“Nobody will leave the comfort of his homes to watch a football match in a shabby stadium; the more, they say, the merrier; we need to make our playing turfs attractive.
“You don’t want to start looking for clean toilets when you are pressed during a match, all these things should be put in place.
“The first impression a football scout may get when he sees a half-empty stadium is that the team is not interesting to watch, that’s why their fans are not out to support them.
“All these things work together, the LMC have shown that they have what it takes to reform this league, but these are the areas I will advise they look into,’’ Akanni said.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) says it will no longer pay athletes training grants in foreign currency.
The development came after sprinter, Kayinsola Ajayi, alleged foul play regarding the disbursement of training grants by the Commission.
Head of NSC’s Elite Athletes Development and Podium Board, Yusuf Alli, told Tidesports source on Friday that it was wrong of Ajayi to rubbish the good intention of the NSC, saying: “I have been in athletics for over 40 years now, and this current NSC Board, led by Mallam Shehu Dikko and Bukola Olopade, has done what others could not do. So far, the NSC has spent over N200 million in payment of training grants for athletes ahead the 2026 Commonwealth Games and preparation for Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.”
The NSC sourced the money from the private sector. It has never happened before. “I expected the athletes to encourage the NSC so that it can do more instead of raising unnecessary alarm and making allegations that is capable of discouraging them (NSC) and even the sponsors. It takes good initiative and trust for sports administrators in Nigeria to convince sponsors to donate money for welfare of athletes,” he said.
Speaking further, Alli, whose long jump record of 8.27m set in 1989 (35 years ago) is still unbroken, said: “We have decided that henceforth, all payment of training grants will be in Naira. No more payment of grants in U.S. dollars. We are Nigerians, and everyone knows that the exchange rate is not stable. As at the time Ajayi got his money, the rate of dollars to Naira may have changed
“I expected him to make a call either to myself or anybody in the Elite Board, or even the NSC to find out what happened instead of resorting to such allegation.
“If we make payment in Naira, any athlete who wants to convert his or her money to any foreign currency can tell their people back home to do so. I am sure this will solve the problem. If anybody wants to know how much he is entitled to, he must first of all find out the category that he or she belongs to.”
Alli disclosed that coaches, who train the athletes would soon get their grant. “They train the athletes, and the NSC feel is it not proper to leave them out in payment of grants. We have compiled their names, and very soon, the coaches would get their money,” Alli stated.
The chairman of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Gbenga Elegbeleye, has directed that a minute’s silence be observed before kick-off at all Matchday 30 fixtures this weekend in honour of former Green Eagles captain Henry Nwosu, following the death of the former midfielder at the age of 62.
In a statement made available to Tidesports source on Saturday, the league body confirmed that the tribute would be held across all matches to recognise the contribution of the former international to Nigerian football.
Elegbeleye described Nwosu’s passing as both a personal loss and a painful moment for the country’s club football community.
Nwosu, who was the youngest member of Nigeria’s squad that won the 1980 African Cup of Nations, died in the early hours of Saturday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Ikeja after a brief illness.
The former midfielder had reportedly spent several days in hospital receiving intensive care before his death.
Elegbeleye said the late footballer was more than a colleague within the sport, describing him as someone with whom he had maintained a long-standing personal relationship dating back to his time at the National Sports Commission.
He said the former national team star had remained supportive of him in various moments of his career, including when he was nominated for the Pitch Football Awards.
Reflecting on Nwosu’s legacy, the NPFL chairman said the news represented the loss of a major figure in Nigerian football, noting that the former midfielder distinguished himself not only at club level but also later contributed to the development of the domestic game as a coach.
Elegbeleye said the death of the former international was “the death of a true ambassador of the domestic and national team football because he not only made his mark as a player in league clubs, but he also coached some of the league clubs.”
He added that death remained a submission to the will of God and prayed for the repose of Nwosu’s soul while urging strength for his family as they mourn the loss of their loved one.
Earlier confirmation of the former midfielder’s death came from former Nigeria international Segun Odegbami, who revealed that Nwosu died after spending five days in hospital. Odegbami said the former player passed away at about four o’clock in the morning at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment in intensive care.
“It is with deep pain in my heart that I have to be the conveyor of the news of the death of Henry Nwosu MON,” Odegbami said.
“After five days in hospital battling for his life, the one I call ‘Youngest Millionaire’ passed on at four o’clock this morning at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, where he had been in intensive care since Wednesday. May he rest peacefully with our Creator in heaven”.
At the club level, the former international spent most of his career in Nigeria, starring for New Nigeria Bank FC of Benin City and African Continental Bank FC of Lagos during a period when both sides were among the dominant forces in domestic football. His performances later earned him moves abroad, where he also played for ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast and Racing FC Bafoussam of Cameroon.
