Nigerian football’s free-fall embarrassing, says Esu
Coach Godfrey Esu has managed many Nigerian
football clubs as far as the local league is concerned.
From Julius Berger FC in Lagos, Shooting Stars
Sports Club (3SC) in Ibadan, Gateway FC, Abeokuta,
Enyimba of Aba, Crown FC of Ogomoso, Delta Force
of Asaba to Bendel Insurance of Benin City, among
others, Esu’s technical expertise has paved the way
for many young Nigerian footballers in reaching the
pinnacle of their soccer career.
But the rapid decline in Nigeria’s football, especially
at the national level, has left coach Esu wondering if
corruption and nepotism, which has eaten so deep
into the fabric of the nation’s football
administration, has affected performance on the
field of play.
For the first time in Nigeria’s football history, all
the male national teams, Super Eagles, Flying Eagles
and Golden Eaglets failed to qualify for African
championship in one single year.
The Super Eagles, under coach Samson Siasia, lost to
Pharaohs of Egypt in the race for Gabon 2017
African Nations Cup, and Nigerians, who felt that
the change in technical crew from coach Sunday
Oliseh to Siasia might have been responsible for the
failure, pardoned the NFF board. Under this same
NFF board, the Super Eagles had failed to qualify
for the last edition of the African Nations Cup held
in Equatorial Guinea, thereby failing to defend the
title Nigeria won at South Africa 2013 AFCON.
With the dust raised over the Super Eagles defeat by
Egypt yet to settle, the Flying Eagles, led by coach
Emmanuel Amuneke added salt to injuries, as they
were sent packing by Sudan in Lagos in race to
Zambia 2017 African Youth Championship. Those
who raised their voices, calling on NFF officials to
wake up from their slumber were tagged ‘enemies
of progress.’
And as if Nigerian football lovers had not suffered
enough agonies, the Golden Eaglets, who had ruled
Africa and the global state over the years, crumbled
like a pack of cards last weekend in the hands of
Junior Minas of Niger Republic, losing 1-3 to crash
out of the 2017 CAF U-17 championship.
The shock defeat by the coach Manu Garba-led
Golden Eaglets to Niger Republic means that Nigeria
will not play at all men’s football competitions both
in Africa and on the global next year. To many true
football-loving Nigerians, including coach Esu, the
free fall currently being witnessed under the
present NFF board, is a big embarrassment to the
nation.
“I am really bothered because the free fall of our
football is becoming a big embarrassment to the
nation,” Esu told The Guardian during the week. “It
shows that something is wrong within the system. I
have been involved in Nigerian soccer for years,
and I can’t recall when all our male national
football teams experienced this kind of free fall in
one particular year. Something urgent has to be
done to salvage the situation,” Esu said.
According to him, those administering the nation’s
football at the moment lack vision. “The foundation
on which our national teams are built these days is
not solid enough. The head is rotten and so, no
meaningful thing can come from the body.
“We don’t have a good formation and the result is
what we are harvesting now. A majority of our
players are on trial and error formation, and no
one is ready to look into it properly because what
the administrators are after is immediate results. I
have sounded it loud and clear to them (NFF) over
time that as long as our league matches are run
based on home and away advantages, nothing good
will come out of the system.
“A situation whereby referees give free penalties for
some teams to win matches at all cost is killing the
game, and the NFF is not doing anything about it. It
sends a bad signal to the younger players even
when they are on national duties that apteral,
somebody will bribe the referee for us to win. I
think we have to look into the area of officiating in
our league. I am saying this because a majority of
the players featuring for the Golden Eaglets and the
Flying Eagles are from the local league.
“The failure of the Super Eagles, Flying Eagles and
the Golden Eaglets to qualify for 2017 CAF
championships has clearly shown to everyone that
we have to look inward and address the issue
properly, instead of mere scratching the surface. I
know that some boot leakers will say this man does
not like some people in the NFF, but sincerely
speaking, the failure serves us better,” Esu stated.
While Esu is blaming officials of the NFF over the
free fall of the nation’s football, former Green
Eagles goalkeeper, Emmanuel Okala says there is no
reason to hold the administrators responsible for
the failure.
“I am not really surprised by the failure of our
teams to qualify for the various CAF competitions in
2017,” Okala told The Guardian in a telephone chat.
“We have been crying out on the need for
government to prepare our teams very well for
competitions, but they always says that there is no
money to do so. And in the game of football, if you
fail to prepare your team well, you must be ready to
take any result that comes your way. What I mean
by preparation is giving the teams quality friendly
matches before any competitive game. That is
missing and it will be wrong for Nigerians to hold
the NFF board responsible for the failure,” Okala
added.
For some other Nigerians however, the NFF board-
led by Amaju Pinnick has no reason to stay in office
any longer, having failed in their responsibilities.
“In a country where people are held accountable
for failures, these NFF board members should have
been flushed out of the glass house in Abuja by now
because the failure of the Super Eagles, Flying
Eagles and Golden Eagles to qualify for African
competitions in a single year is a big shame to this
government,” a sports analyst, Kehinde Adewale,
said on radio sports programme during the week in
Lagos.
football clubs as far as the local league is concerned.
From Julius Berger FC in Lagos, Shooting Stars
Sports Club (3SC) in Ibadan, Gateway FC, Abeokuta,
Enyimba of Aba, Crown FC of Ogomoso, Delta Force
of Asaba to Bendel Insurance of Benin City, among
others, Esu’s technical expertise has paved the way
for many young Nigerian footballers in reaching the
pinnacle of their soccer career.
But the rapid decline in Nigeria’s football, especially
at the national level, has left coach Esu wondering if
corruption and nepotism, which has eaten so deep
into the fabric of the nation’s football
administration, has affected performance on the
field of play.
For the first time in Nigeria’s football history, all
the male national teams, Super Eagles, Flying Eagles
and Golden Eaglets failed to qualify for African
championship in one single year.
The Super Eagles, under coach Samson Siasia, lost to
Pharaohs of Egypt in the race for Gabon 2017
African Nations Cup, and Nigerians, who felt that
the change in technical crew from coach Sunday
Oliseh to Siasia might have been responsible for the
failure, pardoned the NFF board. Under this same
NFF board, the Super Eagles had failed to qualify
for the last edition of the African Nations Cup held
in Equatorial Guinea, thereby failing to defend the
title Nigeria won at South Africa 2013 AFCON.
With the dust raised over the Super Eagles defeat by
Egypt yet to settle, the Flying Eagles, led by coach
Emmanuel Amuneke added salt to injuries, as they
were sent packing by Sudan in Lagos in race to
Zambia 2017 African Youth Championship. Those
who raised their voices, calling on NFF officials to
wake up from their slumber were tagged ‘enemies
of progress.’
And as if Nigerian football lovers had not suffered
enough agonies, the Golden Eaglets, who had ruled
Africa and the global state over the years, crumbled
like a pack of cards last weekend in the hands of
Junior Minas of Niger Republic, losing 1-3 to crash
out of the 2017 CAF U-17 championship.
The shock defeat by the coach Manu Garba-led
Golden Eaglets to Niger Republic means that Nigeria
will not play at all men’s football competitions both
in Africa and on the global next year. To many true
football-loving Nigerians, including coach Esu, the
free fall currently being witnessed under the
present NFF board, is a big embarrassment to the
nation.
“I am really bothered because the free fall of our
football is becoming a big embarrassment to the
nation,” Esu told The Guardian during the week. “It
shows that something is wrong within the system. I
have been involved in Nigerian soccer for years,
and I can’t recall when all our male national
football teams experienced this kind of free fall in
one particular year. Something urgent has to be
done to salvage the situation,” Esu said.
According to him, those administering the nation’s
football at the moment lack vision. “The foundation
on which our national teams are built these days is
not solid enough. The head is rotten and so, no
meaningful thing can come from the body.
“We don’t have a good formation and the result is
what we are harvesting now. A majority of our
players are on trial and error formation, and no
one is ready to look into it properly because what
the administrators are after is immediate results. I
have sounded it loud and clear to them (NFF) over
time that as long as our league matches are run
based on home and away advantages, nothing good
will come out of the system.
“A situation whereby referees give free penalties for
some teams to win matches at all cost is killing the
game, and the NFF is not doing anything about it. It
sends a bad signal to the younger players even
when they are on national duties that apteral,
somebody will bribe the referee for us to win. I
think we have to look into the area of officiating in
our league. I am saying this because a majority of
the players featuring for the Golden Eaglets and the
Flying Eagles are from the local league.
“The failure of the Super Eagles, Flying Eagles and
the Golden Eaglets to qualify for 2017 CAF
championships has clearly shown to everyone that
we have to look inward and address the issue
properly, instead of mere scratching the surface. I
know that some boot leakers will say this man does
not like some people in the NFF, but sincerely
speaking, the failure serves us better,” Esu stated.
While Esu is blaming officials of the NFF over the
free fall of the nation’s football, former Green
Eagles goalkeeper, Emmanuel Okala says there is no
reason to hold the administrators responsible for
the failure.
“I am not really surprised by the failure of our
teams to qualify for the various CAF competitions in
2017,” Okala told The Guardian in a telephone chat.
“We have been crying out on the need for
government to prepare our teams very well for
competitions, but they always says that there is no
money to do so. And in the game of football, if you
fail to prepare your team well, you must be ready to
take any result that comes your way. What I mean
by preparation is giving the teams quality friendly
matches before any competitive game. That is
missing and it will be wrong for Nigerians to hold
the NFF board responsible for the failure,” Okala
added.
For some other Nigerians however, the NFF board-
led by Amaju Pinnick has no reason to stay in office
any longer, having failed in their responsibilities.
“In a country where people are held accountable
for failures, these NFF board members should have
been flushed out of the glass house in Abuja by now
because the failure of the Super Eagles, Flying
Eagles and Golden Eagles to qualify for African
competitions in a single year is a big shame to this
government,” a sports analyst, Kehinde Adewale,
said on radio sports programme during the week in
Lagos.
No comments