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.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.