Thursday, October 23, 2008

How Nigeria won the hosting rights for 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup

For the umpteenth time, Nigeria, Africa's soccer giant, was on Monday defeated by soccer minnows in football politics. OLUKAYODE THOMAS, who witnessed how Nigeria was humiliated in Cairo, Egypt, reveals why and how Nigeria lost the 2010 Africa Nations Cup Bid and why the Federal Government must take over the 2014 Commonwealth Bid in order to avoid another humiliation.

AS the birthplace of the modern Olympic Games, it was fitting that Athens, Greece, hosted the centenary edition of the Games in 1996. The sentiment then was that hosting the Games in Athens would be a befitting birthday present, not only for the city that gave birth to the Games but for all members of the Olympic family. But for this sentiment, Athens was nowhere ready to host the Olympics. She lacked the facilities and equipment to host Games of that magnitude.

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Then, from the blues came the Atlanta '96 bid. America, armed with calculators, told the world that modern Games and championships are serious businesses and that if Atlanta were given the hosting rights, the Olympics would run as business and profit declared. The fact that Athens did not have the facilities and equipment to host the event was another plus for America. In a twinkle of an eye, America, which hosted the world at Los Angeles '84, was back in the driver's seat, securing rights to host Atlanta '96 Games.

Data aside, America remains the global giant and whatever a giant wants, it gets, irrespective of situations and circumstances. The giant's task is made easier when the odds favour it. But like everything in Nigeria that defies natural law, minnows have over the years flawed the African football giant even when the odds favoured her.

The latest happened in Cairo, Egypt, where Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Libya secured rights to host the prestigious Africa Nations Cup in 2010, 2012 and 2014 respectively, while Nigeria was handed the less-prestigious FIFA U-17 World Youth Championship. Angola, who secured the 2010 rights, has no standard stadium. The only one she has in Luanda is not anywhere near the standard required by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to host the Nations Cup.

Other facilities needed to host the championship of that magnitude - transportation, telecommunications, hotels and security, among others, are also not available now in Angola. The country is just coming out of war; so all efforts are directed at reconstruction. Government's guarantee, one of the most important considerations for granting a country hosting rights, was not provided.

Equatorial Guinea and Gabon's bids were not better, likewise Libya. And talking about passion for the game, none of the countries could rival Nigeria. In every aspect, she towers above these other countries combined.

Nigeria's bid, on the other hand, has more than what it takes to host the Nations Cup. Whereas CAF needed just four stadia for the championship, Nigeria has 20, and for the Nations Cup, she has designated nine stadia, six of which were used for the Nigeria '99 World Youth soccer Championship.

The three other stadia are brand new, none of her competitors came anywhere near her. Nigeria's former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, had pleaded with CAF executive committee that the country wanted to host the 2010 Nations Cup to use the championship to celebrate her golden jubilee. Nigeria will be 50 years as a nation in 2010.

Obasanjo also argued that Nigeria's hosting of the competition would provide a fitting prelude for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He warned against awarding the hosting rights to a nation that was not ready, as it would send wrong signals to the world about Africa's ability to host a major championship.

Hosting the 2010 Nations Cup, Nigeria argued, would prepare her for the 2014 Commonwealth Games she is bidding to host and at the same time facilitate the introduction of football into the Games. Obasanjo not only provided government guarantee, all the nine state governors in whose states the stadia are sited also wrote to CAF guaranteeing that they would be good hosts.

Chairman of the Nigeria Bid Committee, Lumumbah Adeh, warned CAF executive committee against letting emotions to override its sense of reasoning, saying: "CAF should remember FIFA's decision to award the hosting rights for the 2006 World Cup to Germany instead of South Africa. For FIFA, readiness takes precedence over sentiments.

"I wish that Angola, Libya, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon host the Africa Nations Cup one day, but not in 2010. Four years is too short for them to do it."

But at the end of the day, sentiments swayed the wise men in CAF executive as they confirmed the rumour circulating in Cairo on the eve of the bid that Nigeria would be designated to host the FIFA U-17 World Youth Championship while Angola and others would be awarded the next three editions of the Nations Cup. On the eve of the announcement, CAF started selling the idea of Nigeria hosting the U-17 World Youth Championship in the guise that it is more prestigious and a global event, with 24 teams from different parts of the world attending.

But even a neophyte in football knows that the Nations Cup is more glamorous and prestigious than the FIFA U-17 youth tourney. The Nations Cup is a championship that will be graced by players with intimidating credentials such as Samuel Eto'o, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Mido, Benni McCarthy, El-Hadji Diouf, Camara, Kolu Toure and Emmanuel, among others. One could go on listing World Cup players featuring in the best world leagues that will grace the Nations Cup. Add the legion of dazzling stars from Nigeria and one would have a continental championship that could rival any in the world.

The U-17, on the other hand, is an event for youngsters barely out of secondary schools. Save for Africa and Latin America, the rest of the world does not know anything is happening each time there is U-17 championship. The European press treats the championship as a poor, distant cousin. These and other reasons notwithstanding, Nigeria wanted the 2010 to celebrate her golden jubilee; anything short of which is an insult.

To worsen the situation, CAF said Nigeria would be on standby for 2010 in case Angola failed to meet the entire requirements to host Africa. This is nothing but penny wise, pound foolish. Why put a country that has everything on standby? But it is in CAF tradition to treat Nigeria with contempt. When it had problems with the 2000 hosting rights it awarded to Zimbabwe, it ran to Nigeria and Ghana. Each time CAF has a problem, Big Brother Nigeria is called upon to rescue, the latest being the 2006 Africa Women Championship.

When Gabon, originally billed to host the championship withdrew because she could not do so, CAF ran to Nigeria and Delta State decided to rescue the continental games. Ironically, the same Gabon that could not host the Africa Women Nations Cup has now been awarded rights for the more complicated and enormous Nations Cup for men. Even on the field of play, Nigeria has been robbed in Nations Cup final at least on three occasions since Issa Hayatou became CAF president.

And at club football and other levels, CAF officials find it easy treating Nigeria with disdain. On the eve of the bid, there were allegations that Angola's high-powered delegation, which arrived before other countries, had bought over CAF and its officials. A Nigerian official told The Guardian that, with the volume of money Angola put on the table, there was no way Nigeria could win the bid. The official also alleged that Hayatou wanted another term, and since voting was around the corner, the South, Central and East African counties would not vote for him if Nigeria, another West African country, won the 2010 bid.

But again, this pales into insignificance when one considers that Morocco hosted Africa in 1988 and Algeria in 1990. Recently, Tunisia hosted in 2004 and Egypt in 2006. Unlike in other bids, where winners and the number of votes won by each country were announced, Hayatou just came out and said that CAF has decided to award the rights for three editions to Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon and Libya.

Chairman of Angola's bid committee, Justino Jose Fernandes, said that nothing made him happier than beating Nigeria again, after stopping her from going to Germany 2006 World Cup. He said: "I am satisfied. We worked hard to get this bid and I can assure you that we will do everything to be ready by 2010.

"After years of war, we are ready to host Africa. Right now, our economy is good, it is the best in Africa. I don't know what to say, but this is the second time in recent times that we will beat Nigeria and this victory is very sweet."

Nigeria's bid chairman, Adeh, whose presentation was adjudged the best, was dumbfounded after Hayatou's announcement. Adeh, who had been briefed before his presentation that CAF might not look at the merits and demerits of the presentations but just award the rights to Angola, was shocked. Having just lost the BFA chairmanship, this was how Adeh reacted to Nigeria's shock loss of the bid: "This is a great shock to me. I don't know when region became a factor for awarding hosting rights. After Ghana, didn't Egypt host after Tunisia?

"The deciding factor should have been the merits or demerits of each nation's bid, not sentiment. If CAF is serious about improving the quality of the Africa Nations Cup, it won't take this kind of sentimental decision."

But former President Obasanjo, the only president that made a passionate bid to the CAF executive committee, could have been saved the Cairo humiliation and embarrassment had Amos Adamu, a director of sports development in the Sports Ministry, put his connection to better usage. Adamu, a member of the CAF executive committee, was allegedly privy to the committee's six-year plan to award the next three editions of the Nations Cup to countries that needed to develop their infrastructure.

Even if the decision was made on the eve of the event, Adamu, who is also the official adviser of the Nigeria Bid Committee, could have advised the government to withdraw and save the nation the humiliation and embarrassment. It was alleged that a decision was to be taken in Cairo on Africa's new nominee to FIFA executive committee, and the choice was between Nigeria's Adamu and an Ivoirien.

Adamu has since been named. There were also insinuations that Hayatou would soon dissolve the West African Football Union (WAFU) executive and Adamu would become the new president of the regional body. Prior to all these, many Nigerians had expected to see the fruits of Adamu's membership of CAF last year, when an Egyptian referee told the world that an Angolan diplomat wanted to bribe him to influence the match. Observers had expected Adamu to set up a high-powered committee to investigate the allegation and get Angola sanctioned.

In terms of appointment and important decisions in CAF, Nigeria is usually relegated to the background. There were fears then that Adamu cannot influence things at CAF level, and little possibility that he would do it at FIFA level, where the stakes are higher. Whereas Angola and others arrived Egypt days before the event, virtually all members of the Nigerian team arrived a few hours before the announcement. Only Delta State Sports Commissioner, Solomon Ogba, and a member of the committee arrived earlier.

Adeh, Mainasara Illoh and other committee members arrived a day earlier. NFA Chairman, Sani Lulu, and other officials of the FA arrived on the bid day. Most of the items and materials meant for the bid did not get to Cairo till after the bid winner had been announced. Curiously, Bolaji Ojo-Oba, the man many believed Adamu had penciled down to take over from Fanny Amun, was also in Cairo. Ojo-Oba, who, alongside Danladi Bako, was sacked from the bid committee, sat on the high table with Ogba and Adeh. Many could not understand how he found his way back into the committee after his sack.

Nigeria's failure in Cairo is a lesson for 2014 Commonwealth Bid Committee. The bid seems to have been hijacked by Adamu, who has dropped the bid committee scribe and replaced him with Tijani Yusuf. All over the world, bid is not a sports ministry affair, the Olympic committee handles it. President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Habu Gumel, must play a central role in Nigeria's bid for the Commonwealth Games.

Former President, Obasanjo, who was rejected by CAF despite his plea that the 2010 Nations Cup be used to celebrate the nation's golden jubilee, must also reject the FIFA U-17 Championship offer. Having hosted the U-20, a more prestigious and glamorous championship, what Nigeria needs now is the FIFA World Cup, not a cadet championship.

If by any means Angola fails to meet CAF deadline for the hosting of the event, Nigeria, who has been placed on standby, should reject the offer to host in 2010. CAF must not continue to exploit Nigeria, especially when it has problem, only to turn its back to her when she needs it.

This story was first published in The Guardian of September 8, 2006.