Sports
Home-Based Players In Super Eagles Buoy NPL
The Nigeria Premier League (NPL) has said that the inclusion of more home-based players in the Super Eagles meant that the domestic league’s standard has improved.
The NPL’s Acting Executive Secretary, Tunji Babalola, told newsmen in Lagos that the regulatory body intended to improve on its operations to ensure stability.
He said that the successful completion of the first stanza of the league would enable the regulatory body carry out an appraisal and put in place measures that would further improve the NPL.
“So far so good; the league has been going on fine, it could be better.
“We will ensure that our mistakes earlier this season, would not be allowed to happen again and we will fine-tune our strategies to keep improving.
“If you look at the makeup of the Super Eagles today, the bulk of the players are from the domestic league, which I see as a plus for the NPL’’, Babalola said.
In the area of officiating in the league, Babalola said that the referees had given a good account of themselves, adding that the away victories secured by visiting teams spoke volumes about the improvement.
“In this season, we have had more away victories, compared to the past. This means fairness by match officials,’’ he said.
Babalola urged fans to continue to attend league matches and not to relent in their support, stressing that they would get good value for their money in the next stanza of the league.
“I want to assure fans of the intention of the NPL to serve them with exciting and entertaining football in the second stanza, because of the keen competition by clubs vying for the title,’’ he said.
The NPL is currently on a one week break, to enable teams to rest and prepare for the second stanza which kicks off at the various centres tomorrow.
The break is also serving as a transfer window to enable teams to carry out mid-season transfer of players to fortify their squads before the commencement of the second stanza.
The 2011/2012 season of the NPL will end in August.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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