About fifty years
ago, the Nigerian Green Eagles began to make some positive impression within
the African region; the same outcome was witnessed by the biggest local clubs of
that era, namely Rangers International Football Club of Enugu and IICC Shooting
Stars of Ibadan. The latter won the African Cup winners cup competition in 1976
and the former did the same in 1977. Nigeria took bronze at the 1978 ANC 1978
and won the title for the first time in 1980 when it was hosted by Nigeria.
These
achievements were a result of deliberate and critical planning which started
from Gen Yakubu Gowon’s regime and continued thereafter.
As part of the post-war 3RS programme, the Federal Government developed
stadiums, and recreational centers and entered into sports bilateral relations with
various countries. Notable among the coaches that came through this
relationship, were Jelisavic Tiko, from (the then) Yugoslavia, and Heinz Marozke,
from then-Western Germany. With his team, several coaching clinics and
trainings were held to develop local coaches and discover our hidden talents.
The legacies of these expatriate trainers were already crumbling by the mid-1980s and it was in that chaos the fate of Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, 1962-2013, brought Nigeria to the world stage. From his controversial movement to Stade D’Abidjan in 1985, he found himself in Belgium the next year and his qualities attracted several scouts to Nigeria. Belgian scout Willy Pluym, in his interview with Mumuni Alao, of Complete Football, said thus;
Mumuni Alao, ‘Belgium Exodus,’ Complete Football, November 1988, P10.
Keshi
was not Nigeria’s first football export; Teslimi Balogun had ventured into the
English League (Peterborough FC), in the early 1950s, same for Damian Ogunsuyi
(Egypt), Okey Isima(Brazil and later Portugal), Richard Owobokiri(Brazil and
later Portugal), in the 1980s, to mention a few. However, their foray never
attracted as much attention as Nigerian Football
NFD: THE CLEMENCE WESTERHOF YEARS
Clemence Westerhof
and his team perfectly managed the consequences of Willy Plyum’s discovery and
began to indirectly mold Nigerian football to favor his job. He pursued a
policy that ensured that local players with proven talent were helped to get
global exposure by helping them get a club in Europe. Thus emerged, players
such as Uche Okechukwu, Daniel Amokachie, Finidi George, Aloy Agu, Ben Iroha,
Chidi Nwanu, Victor Ikpeba, et al. who were purely homegrown and grew to become
the spine of the Nigerian Super Eagles!
THE INAUGURATION OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL REGULATIONS
By 1990, the
Nigerian Professional Football League, commenced, and critical aspects of its operations,
were spelled out. The expectation was that the Nigerian Football industry would be
run and managed as a business concern. This is to enable it to grow to easily attract
corporate sponsorship, whilst the government divests its interests. Corporate
sponsorship existed before the promulgation of the NPFL statutes but sponsors could
not do much apart from advertising its services the industry had no legal
operational backing as a business enterprise.
THE
PREVAILING OUTCOMES OF NIGERIA’s FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT
With
the NFF always cap in hand and unable
to fulfill its obligations or perfectly manage any generated revenues, it has
become exposed to the maxim;
‘’ He who pays the piper dictates the tune’’. The outcome of this action can be abridged and summarized into the following;
EXCESSIVE
GOVERNMENT INFLUENCE
Excessive
government control still prevails at all levels of Nigerian football. They own
virtually all stadiums in Nigeria, appoint the management board of all state-owned football clubs, recruit and pay salaries of players registered with them
and possibly influence elections into elective positions, to ensure
compliant people manage the game.
An
extremely disconcerting aspect of Nigeria’s Football Development is the
paucity of corporate sponsorships. Over 40 years ago, virtually all Nigerian
banks, had a fledging football club in Nigeria. Currently, no Nigerian bank
owns a team in the Nigeria Professional Football League, the GSM service providers
have never owned a team, and have withdrawn their corporate sponsorship of
football in Nigeria. This fact is true about other FCMG organizations in
Nigeria. Skeptics would easily ascribe Nigeria’s poor economy to the dearth of
corporate sponsorship, but rational judgment would aver that Nigeria’s economic
situation is not isolated from the rest of the world. Corporate sponsorship is
evidently an aspect of business marketing & advertising of an organization's brand assets and does not necessarily give them a negative balance sheet. The
reasons for the above cannot be farfetched seeing how successive leaderships
have managed the industry.
INFRASTRUCTURAL UNDERDEVELOPMENT
The
consequences of the 3RS programme on sports enable stadiums to be located in virtually
every Nigerian state capital and diverse state governments provide the same for
their people. A detailed appraisal of the current infrastructural suitability
of these facilities to the modern requirements of such facilities, in terms of
seamless broadcasting, training facilities, accommodation, etc would reveal that
our entire nation cannot boast of less than a handful of 21st-century stadia facilities.
THE FAILING NPFL
PROJECT
Several
salient objectives of the Nigerian Professional Football League regulations
have not been implemented over thirty years after its inauguration.
- Revenues
accruing to clubs for player transfers do not appear to be reflected in
the balance sheets of most clubs, rather, the role of agents has become
more prominent.
- Despite
the incentives related to the ownership of stadiums by clubs, not up to ten
percent of Nigerian clubs own the one or the practice pitches they use. Gate
takings have never been a prioritized revenue option for Nigerian clubs
and even the national teams.
- Government
has still not divested from football and its continued involvement in
every facet, is counterproductive, considering the unstable nature of
government activities in Nigeria.
SUBMISSION
Football
management goes beyond organizing the Nigerian Professional Football League and
participating in international competitions. Job creation would be enhanced
when football teams are structured (through deliberate policies, as already
articulated in the NPFL statutes) to grow from the bottom to the top. This would
necessitate infrastructural and capacity development within the industry,
legitimize contractual obligations, and attract the development of several
ancillary businesses, like in other climes. Despite the humongous salaries of
several European football teams, they still thrive and generate revenues, even
from FCMGs in Africa!
Comparing our
antecedents in the 1990s to the present, the following is evident;
- No
Nigerian club side has won any African club championship for the past ten
years. Conversely, winners of the same trophies have come from North and South
Africa, which have the most developed football facilities.
- Nigeria
has never won the African version of the African Nations Cup and rarely
qualifies to participate. This failure is directly attributable to the
organization of our local league and the intricacies of player selection.
- Not
more than 20% of registered Nigerian club sides own an organized age-grade team or own their own stadium facility. This does not include the state-owned club sides.
- The
level of Nigerian Football development requires serious interrogation about
the reasons it’s been unable to attract FCMG sponsorships. More than 80%
of our biggest business enterprises do not sponsor football. This is
against the norm, considering the unique advantage of football as a tool
for branding and corporate advertisements.
Noteworthy,
is that we have succeeded the very few times football was managed by a
purposeful and deliberate leadership. The examples of General Yakubu Gowon
and Ibrahim Babangida’s initiatives of the 1970s and 1990s are clear.
The
Nigerian football industry can still grow far better than its current level and
like England, can become the melting point of professional football within our
sub-region and beyond. The leadership of the Nigerian Football Federation can
achieve this through deliberate planning and concrete focus!
