Rising Stars’ Coach Tasks Football Administrators On Fairness

The Head Coach of Rising Stars Football Club of Akure, Boye Ogunderu, on Friday in Abuja urged football administrators to be fair in taking decisions on conflicts arising from matches.
Ogunderu told Tidesports that fairness was necessary for football in Nigeria to grow.
The coach spoke against the background of the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on his club’s match with Kwara United Feeders FC of Ilorin.
Tidesports source reports that Kwara United Feeders, which had earlier lost 1-2 to Rising Stars in Makurdi on Sept. 8, defeated the Akure side 2-1 in a replay match.
The replay match was played at the FIFA Goal Project pitch of the Abuja National Stadium on Friday.
“It was my wish that my team should win the game to earn promotion to the Nigeria National League (NNL).
“But this was a match we had won already in Makurdi and we were only asked by the league management to replay the match.
“They said we didn’t  attend the pre-match meeting. But we played the match and we won.
“But one thing I have come to understand in this profession is if you don’t belong to their group you cannot be a successful coach in this country.
“I knew that they would ask us to replay the match, because after our last match with a club from Ekiti the coach told me to my face that we cannot defeat Kwara United Feeders if I don’t belong to the football politics.
“That is what has exactly happened.
“However, we need to be fair in judging football matters so that we can compete with the clubs in the foreign leagues,” Ogunderu said.
Speaking also, Seun Betiku, the Team Manager of Rising Stars FC, however said they would go back and deliberate on the NLO decision.
“We have not agreed with the decision of the NLO.
“We only got a message from the NLO that the match was rescheduled because we did not attend the pre-match meeting, and that we played 80 minutes of the match,’’ he said.