Sunday, February 7, 2010

Okocha: Bold step to rescue Nigerian soccer

On the ball, he is deft, swift and capable of doing just about anything with it. And because of this scintillating display on the field of play, Austin "Jay-Jay" Okocha, remains close to the hearts of the average Nigerian football fan, so much that many believe his exit from the Super Eagles has left a vacuum which, is yet to be filled by any player.

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But as captain of the Super Eagles, Okocha was no saint. While he played his heart out on a number of occasions, he also disappointed on some, when his sheer presence was needed in the national team. In fact, Nigerians will not forget in a hurry, the role he played in the non-qualification of the country for the Germany 2006 World Cup. However, according to the erstwhile midfield dazzler, the Super Eagles last outing at the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola, considered dismal by many, has prompted him to campaign for a change in the country's football scenario. The former Super Eagles skipper reeled out his plans in a recent media parley. OLALEKAN OKUSAN was in attendance.

Austin "Jay-Jay" Okocha, immediate past captain of the Super Eagles was peeved by Nigeria's lackluster outing at the recently concluded 27th edition of the African Cup of Nations that he decided to take the bull by the horns and cause a positive change to take place.

An enraged Okocha said: "I must tell you that the last two weeks have been the most traumatic of my entire life in football. While I have always appreciated the immense passion Nigerians have for football and for our national teams when they are playing, the first lesson I learnt at the beginning of the last Nations Cup finals in Angola was that, as players, we are often the ones at the heart of the games. We clearly will never have enough understanding of how badly our performances on the field affect millions of our countrymen and women, especially when we don't play well," Okocha lamented.

He continued: "This last championship, being the very first time in 18 years of my career that I will not be part of the team as a player, afforded me the opportunity of knowing how critically important this game is, to our collective growth and unity as a nation. For this reason, I have, along with a few former Super Eagles stars, decided that it is time we got more involved in seeking solutions to the myriad of problems facing our football development.

"Our recent experience has shown that those of us who have played the game at the highest levels for clubs and country must desist from just sitting on the sidelines and leaving the running of the sport to career civil servants and politicians."

He further said: "I have, therefore, on behalf of other concerned former national team players, decided to come out today and join my voice with those of millions of Nigerians in and out of the country, to affirm and spread the message that "Enough is Enough" of the maladministration and rot in Nigerian football; and that without any gainsaying: 'The time for change is now'."

The former Fernebache of Turkey star who said he remains grateful to Nigerians for believing in him throughout his career, added that it was the support he got as a player that inspired him to take a bold step in his attempt to stem the dwindling fortune of the game.

The erstwhile Bolton of England skipper, who described football as a socio-economic weapon which, if well managed, would create livelihood for many youths in Nigeria stressed, "Every time I travel round the country, I marvel at the incredible abundance of talents all over our nation. It is high time we began to treat our football with the seriousness and decency it deserves as a veritable socio-economic weapon.

"All over the world football is the easiest way for a poor man to aspire to a decent life. And the story of most of us, I inclusive, should inspire our leaders to begin to seriously exploit this. What would help stem the negative tide is a holistic look at all the components, especially the human resources, which is the most important of all," he added.

Conscious of the fact that stiff opposition would definitely come from the charlatans who are believed to be running football aground in the country, he maintained that "The Presidency must rise to evolve ways of making the valuable knowledge; exposure and experience gathered by dozens of the nation's successful professional footballers count in national football management.

"Ex-international players must be encouraged to take up the reins of leadership in our football and inject their knowledge of how the game is administered in Europe and the advanced world into our game as well as other vital sectors of our national life like oil, security, politics, banking, medicine, law, among others. From now onward, we must put our best legs forward both on and off the pitch and return Nigeria to her front position in African football. Time for that change is now," he emphasised.

Okocha listed some of the areas where urgent changes are needed, as the domestic league, administration and grassroots programmes.

"As it has been proven by the career story of many of us, again myself inclusive, our domestic league development needs a new approach. State governments and club owners must appreciate the need to attract big money to the league by investing in infrastructure, playing surfaces, crowd education, sports medicine/physiotherapy and most importantly, the training and encouragement of coaches. Teams must on compulsory basis, invest in feeder teams across different categories as a way of building strength and earning revenue.

"Our playing surfaces must be vastly improved to attract much-needed foreign exchange and satellite television revenue. This will also impact the lot of the players who in fact, must get much more consideration in the senior national team set-up from now, beginning from our preparation for the South Africa 2010 World Cup.

The ex-international who claimed that "A lot of people have constantly complained to me about the quality of our current crop of Super Eagles", added, "for me, the answer is simple. The quality of our domestic league remains a key element in ensuring a strong Super Eagles. All of us therefore have a responsibility to ensure that the management of our league is entrusted in the hands of very experienced, selfless and highly-motivated administrators who will take it to the next level."

On administration, he said: "So much has been said about our national teams, especially the Super Eagles lately. It is my considered opinion that a strong, efficient and highly focused Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) leadership will solve all these problems. A lot appears to be missing now in terms of the level of disconnect between what players from Europe experience in their clubs and what they experience coming to the national camp. Competence, diligence, knowledge and tactical resourcefulness on the part of coaches and administrators are what we need to put in place. And there is no better time than now for all of us to begin to look round, ask questions and encourage men of honour and proven abilities to take over the running of our football."

Being a product of grassroots programme, Okocha added: "An effective, focused and efficient administration as has been clamoured in this speech will guarantee a grassroots scouting and development policy. With national scouts posted to all zones of the federation, Nigeria can be guaranteed a steady pool of quality talents who would challenge for shirts with their foreign based counterparts as performances of several African countries at Angola 2010 has shown that good players are not available in Europe alone but can also be sourced from local leagues."

For the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Okocha urged the players to be focused in their bid to do the country proud at the Mundial.

His words: "I will want to end by reiterating my appeal to my colleagues in the Super Eagles to look beyond Angola 2010 and work hard towards ensuring a good outing for Nigeria at South Africa 2010. From coaches to administrators, fans and our corporate organisations, we are all guilty of bringing our football to the present state.

"It is time we all come together with a view to taking it to the height expected of a giant in the game," Okocha noted.

At the event, former African Footballer of the year, Victor Ikpeba lauded Okocha for his bold step, while assuring him of his total support in the quest to give Nigerian football a new face.

Also the trio of Tajudeen Disu, Emmanuel Okocha and Amusa Shittu, who flanked the former skipper at the briefing assured him of their backing, while promising to involve other ex-internationals in the exercise.