Newly-appointed CAF president Ahmad Ahmad vows to audit CAF accounts.

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Staff Reporter

Newly-appointed Confederation of African Football (Caf) president Ahmad says his first act will be to conduct an audit of the body. The Malagasy dethroned long-term Caf president Issa Hayatou on Thursday, winning the elections by 34 votes to 20 in Ethiopia.

“I will go to Caf headquarters and look inside this house – after that, I audit,” Ahmad told BBC Sport. “It’s not a suspicion but it’s management now – an obligation.”

He added: “When (we) finish the managerial and financial audit, I will call the press to talk about the guide that we can follow. Step-by-step, that is our obligation.” Ahmad, who was little known prior to announcing his candidacy in January, was elected on a campaign of wide-ranging reforms.

The 57-year-old says he has still to recover from what many are calling a seismic change in the leadership of Caf, following Hayatou’s 29-year reign. “The shock is leaving but my body is tired,” Ahmad said after what was a gruelling campaign.

The former footballer and coach – and current political senator in Madagascar – is expected to rule Caf until 2021.

Source: The Guardian

Uproar in the NFF over Amaju Pinnick’s CAF pick

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Staff Reporter

The head of Nigerian football’s governing body is at loggerheads with his executive committee after he endorsed Madagascar’s Ahmad Ahmad to be president of the Confederation of African Football.

The Nigerian Football Federation said it had called a meeting on Tuesday to distance itself from Amaju Pinnick’s position and instead throw its weight behind the incumbent Issa Hayatou.

CAF member countries vote for the new president in Addis Ababa on March 16. Ahmad is challenging Hayatou, who has been CAF boss since 1988.

“He (Pinnick) has clearly upset the Nigerian football establishment and he will be told that in no uncertain terms at this meeting,” the official added.

Nigeria’s sports minister Solomon Dalung has already said Pinnick’s position was not that of the NFF, as have senior Nigerian football officials already holding CAF portfolios.

Amos Adamu, Dominic Oneya, Sani Lulu and Aminu Maigari — who have all been NFF president — at the weekend gave their backing to Hayatou in a public statement.

Pinnick as an individual could support anyone he wanted, they said, but added there was “no evidence where Mr Pinnick was mandated to commit this country to supporting Mr Ahmad”.

“No Nigerian member of CAF has been consulted nor informed out of courtesy about the ambitions of the NFF President,” they added.

“We do not remember Mr Ahmad visiting Nigeria to solicit or canvass for votes nor do we have any record of Mr Ahmad’s pedigree in the running of football in Africa that would have led Mr Pinnick to dangerously throw all of Nigeria’s eggs in his basket.

“We stand dangerously threatened.”

The Nigerian CAF officials instead said there was every reason to continue to support Hayatou, calling him “a pillar of support” and a “true friend of Nigerian football”.

Source: The Guardian

Nigerian Football chief, Amaju Pinnick endorsed for CAF position.

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Staff Reporter

Despite what many Nigerians consider very poor performance by the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, under Amaju Pinnick, the latter has been nominated for an African position.

The General Assembly of the NFF on Sunday in Lagos endorsed the candidature of Mr. Pinnick for election into the CAF Executive Committee.

The 72nd Annual General Assembly of the NFF held at the Best Western Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Sunday.

According to a communiqué released by Ademola Olajire, the NFF spokesman, “the Congress passed a Vote of Confidence on the NFF Executive Committee.

“It also endorsed the candidature of NFF President, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick for election into the CAF Executive Committee at the CAF Congress in Addis Ababa in March 2017.

“Congress called on all Nigerians to give him total support as it is not an NFF venture, but a Nigerian Project,” it said.

Mr. Pinnick and the NFF leadership have been criticised for their management of Nigerian football which worsened last week with the protest by the Super Falcons.

The Nigerian female national team emerged African champions in Cameroon despite not being paid their allowances.

Their protest last Wednesday to the National Assembly forced President Buhari to order release of funds to pay the ladies.

In their communique on Sunday, the NFF Congress commended President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government for the action taken to pay the players and officials of the Super Falcons their entitlements.

The Super Falcons were crowned champions of the 10th Women Africa Cup of Nations Finals in Cameroon.

The Communique also noted that the General Assembly endorsed the new boards of the Nigeria National League (NNL) and the Nigeria Nationwide League (NNWL) as constituted by a Selection Committee.

It said the boards of the two leagues were immediately sworn in.

It said the Congress also resolved as follows:

“In order for Nigeria Football to align itself with the FIFA Integrity Initiative, Congress adopted the NFF National Integrity Initiative Strategy, as proposed by the NFF Integrity Unit.

“General Assembly also adopted the Disciplinary and Ethics Code of the Nigeria Football Federation as proposed by the Executive Committee.”

The Congress expressed satisfaction with the explanation provided by the Executive Committee on a number of issues raised by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung at the opening ceremony.

It noted that the issues were on division within the Board, FIFA Audit Query and late submission of memos.

It submitted that the minister was misinformed about the activities of the Board.

“Congress noted the submission of the Executive Committee stating that at no time previously (official or unofficially) did the Minister raise these issues with the NFF leadership to obtain clarification.

It added that the Federation would have gladly provided clarifications just as it did to the House Committee on Sports during a recent sitting on its budget performance and budget proposal.

“Indeed, the audited account of the Federation for the year, as audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, an internationally reputable audit firm, was presented and adopted at the General Assembly.

“General Assembly empowered the NFF Executive Committee to provide detailed explanation to the Office of the Honourable Minister on all the issues raised.

“It also empowered it to publish them as a matter of public records, for the avoidance of doubt and for information of the general public, NFF partners and sponsors,” it said.

The Communique said that the Chairman, House Committee on Sports praised the leadership of the NFF for various achievements recorded during the period.

He also urged them to remain focused to ensure Super Eagles qualification for 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The Congress expressed appreciation to the Lagos State Government and the Local Organising Committee for the successful hosting of the Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations staged by Nigeria from December 13 – 18.

The body also thanked the Secretary General of FIFA, Fatma Samoura. for attending the championship.

The Communique added that Congress elected Musa Duhu, Chairman of Adamawa State Football Association, to join the NFF Executive Committee from the north-east geo-political zone.

The vacancy was created with the demise of Hussaini Modibbo, member from that zone.

“Duhu was the only candidate for the seat and was declared “worthy and credible” by the NFF Electoral Committee,” it said.

CAF Bans Giwa, 4 Others For 5 Years

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Staff Reporter

Confederation of African Football, CAF, has slammed a five-year ban on embattled Chris Giwa and four four of his disciples thereby confirming and extending the same five-year ban placed on them by the Amaju Pinnick- led Nigeria Football Federation. The four others affected by the continental ban are Muazu Suleyman, Yahaya Adama, Sani Fema and Johnson Effiong.

In a letter signed by CAF’s Secretary-General, Hicham El Amrani and dated May 27th 2016 and copied to NFF’s President Amaju Pinnick, the letter stated that the ban forbids them from all football related activities for 5 years.

Credit: vanguardngr

CAF Confederation Cup Fixtures

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Staff Reporter

CAF Confederation Cup last-32, first-leg fixtures this weekend (all times GMT):

Friday At Douala, Cameroon UMS Loum (CMR) v FUS Rabat (MAR) 1400

Saturday At Gabes, Tunisia Stade Gabesien (TUN) v Kaloum (GUI) 1300

At Harare Harare City (ZIM) v Zanaco (ZAM) 1300

At Bujumbura Atletico Olympic (BDI) v Mounana (GAB) 1300

At Kampala Villa (UGA) v JKU (ZAN) 1300

At Dundo, Angola Sagrada Esperanca (ANG) v Desportivo Maputo (MOZ) 1400

At Pointe-Noire, Congo Brazzaville V Club Mokanda (CGO) v Police (RWA) 1430

At N’Djamena Renaissance (CHA) v Esperance (TUN) 1450

At Abidjan Africa Sports (CIV) v ENPPI (EGY) 1600

At Johannesburg Wits (RSA) v Azam (TAN) 1600

At Fayoum, Egypt Misr El Maqasah (EGY) v Don Bosco (COD) 1600

At Oran, Algeria Mouloudia Oran (ALG) v Gagnoa (CIV) 1700

At Marrakech, Morocco Kawkab Marrakech (MAR) v Barrack Young Controllers II (LBR) 1800 Sunday

At Abuja Nasarawa Utd (NGR) v CS Constantine (ALG) 1300

At Lubumbashi, DR Congo Saint Eloi Lupopo (COD) v Al Ahly Shendy (SUD) 1330

At Sfax, Tunisia Al Ittihad (LBA) v Medeama (GHA) TBA Note: lawlessness prevents match being staged in Libya

Credit: vanguardngr

Lots Will Decide Whether Guinea Or Mali Reach The Africa Cup Of Nations

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Lots will decide whether Guinea or Mali reach the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals after a draw in Mongomo.

Modibo Maiga’s header from Abdoulay Diaby’s cross in the second half left Mali and Guinea with identical records, having drawn each of their games 1-1.

The drawing of lots has been postponed until Thursday, having originally been pencilled in for Wednesday evening.

Guinea had taken the lead when Kevin Constant coolly dinked home a penalty given for handball by Salif Coulibaly.

Mali should have levelled immediately but Seydou Keita’s penalty was saved, after Baissama Sankoh was penalised for handball.

However, neither side was able to find a winning goal on an uneven pitch.

How will they draw lots?

The all-important draw will now happen in the Confederation of African Football (Caf) hotel in Malobo at 15:00 GMT, during a meeting of the competition’s organising committee.

The names of the two teams will be placed into two balls, before an official is invited to pick one ball – inside which will be the name of the team that has qualified for the quarter finals as group runners-up and will face Ghana on Sunday afternoon.

The last time lots were drawn to decide a team’s qualification in this tournament was in 1988 when Algeria profited at Ivory Coast’s expense.

Ivory Coast finished top of Group D after beating Cameroon 1-0 – the only match in the group not to finish in a 1-1 draw.

Indeed, a 1-1 draw between the Elephants and Cameroon would have left all four teams having to draw lots.

Two of the six penalties awarded so far at this tournament came in this game

Lots have been drawn before
In a 1954 World Cup qualifying match in Rome, Turkey and Spain were tied after 90 minutes. At that point, a 14-year-old boy, the son of a stadium employee, was summoned to draw lots from a trophy, sending Turkey to compete at the tournament in Switzerland while Spain were sent home. Some reports suggest balls were drawn, others say it was a slip of paper
In the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, Algeria profited at the expense of Ivory Coast after the drawing of lots
At the 1990 World Cup in Italy, the Netherlands and Ireland were tied for second place in their group. Straight after the match, Sepp Blatter, then second-in-command at Fifa, conducted a drawing of lots ceremony live on TV in Rome. Both teams were guaranteed qualification for round two but an attendant drew a ball from two bowls to determine their ranking, and thus their second-round opponent

All Eyes On Malabo For AFCON 2015 Draws Today

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Staff Reporter

All eyes in Africa will be focussed on Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday as the capital of Malabo plays host to the draw for the Africa Cup of Nations just weeks after Morocco were stripped of the right to host the event.

The traditional ceremony to determine the group matchups for the January 17 to February 8 continental showpiece, was initially set for Rabat before Morocco asked for the tournament to be postponed because of the devastating Ebola outbreak which has cost nearly 7,000 lives in west Africa.

Morocco were instead not only stripped of the right to host the tournament but disqualified from the event as Equatorial Guinea, the third highest producer of petrol in Sub-Saharan Africa, stepped in at the final hour to save the day.

Equatorial Guinea, who co-hosted the 2012 event with Gabon, face a race against time to be ready with less than two months until kick-off, and the draw is set to unveil further indications of progress on preparations.

One aspect that hasn’t changed is the format with four groups of four teams drawn in a round-robin first round line-up shared between the cities of Malabo, Bata, Mongomo and Ebebiyin.

– Ivory Coast, Algeria the teams to avoid –

Ironically, Equatorial Guinea will be in the top seeded hat as hosts, just six months after the former Spanish colony were disqualified from qualifying after fielding an ineligible player during a preliminary round fixture against Mauritania.

They will joined, as one of the top four seeds, by four-time champions Ghana, 2012 African winners Zambia and the Ivory Coast.

The ‘Elephants’ of the Ivory Coast, who lost finals in 2006 and 2012 and also reached the semi-finals in 2008, remain a formidable force as the seedings were determined by previous CAN results.

Their glory teams of the past have undergone several changes in recent years as they turn to life without retired legend Didier Drogba and now lean on the coaching leadership of dashing Frenchman Herve Renard who led Zambia to their first title three years ago.

Manchester City’s Yaya Toure and Roma striker Gervinho are key players for the Ivory Coast with a strong cast of talent in place to support the 1992 champions.

Holders Nigeria and seven-time champions Egypt failed to qualify leaving Algeria the danger team from hat number two alongside 2013 finalists Burkina Faso, Mali and Tunisia.

The ‘Desert Foxes’ of Algeria reached the second round of the World Cup for the first time this year, and are chasing a second African title after their only success on home soil in 1990.

The country are enjoying a purple patch with top club ES Setif recently winning the African Champions League and the CAN providing a serious opportunity to increase their flourishing international reputation.

On paper, hat number four appears stronger than the third set of teams with former giants Senegal, Cameroon and Guinea joining the Congo while Cape Verde, South Africa, Gabon and Democratic Republic of Congo complete the 16-nation line-up in pot three.

Cameroon, now without former captain Samuel Eto’o, failed to qualify in 2012 and 2013 which dropped their ranking while Senegal have failed to get past the first round since 2006.

The ‘Indomitable Lions’ of Cameroon, won the last of their four African titles in 2002, when they defeated a Senegal team making their lone appearance in the championship match.

2015 CAN draw:

Pot 1: Equatorial Guinea (hosts), Ghana, Ivory Coast, Zambia

Pot 2: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Tunisia

Pot 3: Cape Verde, South Africa, Gabon, DR Congo

Pot 4: Cameroon, Senegal, Guinea, Congo

Source – kokomansion.com

African Cup Host to be Named in 2-3 Days

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Staff Reporter

A new host for the African Cup of Nations will be named in 2-3 days, the Confederation of African Football said Wednesday, although it still hasn’t made contact with the countries who could possibly replace Morocco.

“All I can say is that it will be played somewhere,” CAF President Issa Hayatou said in comments published Wednesday by the African soccer body from an interview with television station France 24.

Hayatou offered no clarity on the new host for the continent’s top tournament with only two months to go until kickoff. But he did say it would go ahead as planned in January and February.

Morocco was dumped as host and thrown out of the 2015 African Cup on Tuesday after insisting it should be delayed over fears of the spread of Ebola. The CAF president said “it was absolutely necessary to end this standoff” with Morocco by stripping it of hosting rights.

CAF had “a few requests” from African federations to step in for Morocco, Hayatou said in the France 24 interview, which was originally broadcast Tuesday night. However, CAF still had to fully investigate the options.

“We have not had the time to get in touch with these federations to try to define the contours of the organization,” Hayatou said, according to the interview transcript released by CAF. “Therefore, I cannot tell you where it will be played. All I can tell you is that it will take place.”

Nigeria, Angola and Gabon have been mentioned as possible stand-in hosts, while South Africa, Egypt, Sudan, Ghana and Algeria have all seemingly ruled themselves out. No country has yet said publicly it wants to host the tournament at short notice.

Hayatou did say that delaying the tournament — as Morocco had requested — would have hurt CAF’s relationship with its sponsors, while some of Africa’s top players may not have been released by their European clubs to play in a re-scheduled tournament.

That would have been like signing a “death warrant” for African football, Hayatou said.

“Once you postpone this event, it will open the door for everybody to ask for a delay of any competition and we will no longer be credible and cannot organize anything,” he said. “We will hurt our sponsors and partners … That is what I told the Moroccans. We cannot sign our death warrant, because if we postpone this event, it will be very deadly for African football.”

Hayatou’s comments underlined CAF’s most pressing reason for keeping the African Cup to the planned dates of Jan. 17-Feb. 8: a delay would affect the money-earning potential of its main tournament and source of revenue.

Credit: Yahoo News

Morocco Insists on Delaying African Cup over Ebola

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Morocco is sticking to its demand to postpone the African Cup of Nations football tournament due to the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, despite pressure from the Confederation of African Football.

A statement from the Ministry of Sports late Saturday said that because of the “spread of the deadly Ebola pandemic,” Morocco was maintaining its call for delaying the tournament it is scheduled to host from Jan. 17-Feb. 8, to the following year.

The Confederation of African Football has repeatedly rejected calls to postpone the tournament and last Monday gave Morocco five days to agree to hold the tournament as scheduled or they would reassign it.

The body will meet again on Tuesday to make a final decision on whether the tournament will be delayed or assigned to another country.

The CAF will talk to other countries willing to host if Morocco doesn’t agree to hold the tournament on the scheduled dates, although it’s unclear if other nations are willing to step in.

Possible replacement hosts South Africa, Egypt and Sudan have all said they won’t stage the tournament. Ghana and Nigeria are believed to be considering if they want to act as short-notice hosts.

Last month, Morocco asked for the 16-team competition to be delayed because of the threat of fans arriving in numbers from Ebola-affected countries. The virus has killed about 5,000 people in West Africa in the worst recorded outbreak. The deaths have almost all occurred in the three worst-affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In its statement, the CAF listed reasons why the cup should go ahead in January and February, saying the numbers of traveling fans would be low, Morocco has no reported Ebola cases, and the dates can’t be moved because they fit in with FIFA’s calendar.

The CAF also cited its commitments to its “commercial partners,” with the African Cup of Nations the organization’s most important and valuable tournament.

The CAF has maintained the qualifying competition for the African Cup by banning all games in Guinea and Sierra Leone, and ordering their teams to play “home” games in neutral countries. Liberia isn’t involved in the final qualifiers.

Credit: Yahoo News

CHAN 2014: Who Can Make Eagles Call Up For Brazil 2014?

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Eagles making their debut at the just concluded African Nations Championship in South Africa 201 since 2009, coming third in the competition despite doubts about Eagles performance before the competition, ODUKALE BOWALE takes a look at Eagles campaign in South Africa at the concluded African Nations Championship and possible players who can make Eagles’ list for World Cup Brazil 2014 in June.

The African Nations Championship is a relatively new event staged by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), having first been played in 2009; creation of the event was a response to the desire to strengthen national competitions regularly weakened by a mass exodus of top players who leave their home countries to play for foreign teams. It features only players who play their trade in the domestic leagues and features from all the six CAF zones on the continent.

Nigeria made her debut at the 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN) edition in South Africa securing a third-place finish at the African tourney reserved for professional players in their country’s domestic leagues when they failed to qualify for the first two tournament finals in Cote d’Ivoire and Sudan. They were eliminated by arch-rivals Ghana for the inaugural competition in Cote d’Ivoire in 2009 and next-door neighbors Niger shocked them out for the next tournament staged by Sudan.

Eagles had to scrape past Cote d’Ivoire 4-3 on aggregate to make it to South Africa 2014 when they won the first game in Kaduna 4-1 courtesy of a brace from Sunday Mba and further goals from Gambo Mohammed and Ifeanyi Ede only to lose the return match 2-0 in Abidjan. In preparation for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in South Africa, series of friendly matches was in place for the Eagles where big boss finally made the 23 man list for the tournament.

Eagles started their African Championship campaign against the Les Aigles of Mali and lost 2-1 in their opening game in Cape Town, where the Eagles struggled in defence and did not create many goal scoring chances as substitute Gbolahan Salami pulled a goal back for Nigeria, but for poor finishing, Mali had chances to kill off this game as pegged their opponents mainly in their own half of the pitch.

Having in mind the slim chances in qualifying for the next stage of the tournament, Eagles put up a much improved performance to scrape past Mambas of Mozambique 4 goals to 2. Mambas went in front but Nigeria restored uniformity when Enyimba striker Ifeanyi Ede stabbed home from inside the box after a nod-on from a long throwing following Kano Pillars playmaker Rabiu Ali putting Nigeria ahead, Mambas ripped open the Nigeria defence and allowed the stocky Diogo to round up Agbim and coolly slot home his second goal of the tournament in the 20th minute. Rabiu Ali again put Nigeria in front in the 54th minute, when and substitute Barnabas Imenger made the game safe.

Costly errors saw hosts South Africa go down 3-1 to Nigeria in their last African Nations Championship match and crash out of the tournament in spectacular fashion as Nigeria’s goals came from pint-sized winger Christantus Ejike (2) and an Ifeanyi Ede penalty.

Astounding Nigeria came back from three goals down to beat Atlas Lions of Morocco 4-3 to qualify for the semi-final of CHAN where Nigeria three goals were scored during the second half of the play, while the winning goal was scored during the extra time. It was indeed a surprise victory for not only Eagles but as a country as whole, as Nigerians and different sports pundits applauded the team including President Goodluck Jonathan as the “god of soccer” is commonly referred to as a Nigerian.

Keshi’s team reached the third playoff of the CHAN against all odds in spite of being seconds away from elimination in the hands of the impressive Moroccans before Ejike Uzoenyi’s cracking goal. After their sensational comeback against Morocco, it was a huge anti-climax that Nigeria will not be playing in CHAN final as Ghana made Nigeria pay through penalty, as they literally used their strength to muscle the Super Eagles out of the championship game. It was rather ironic that until recently Nigeria were known for their physical approach to the game and Ghana more for their flair as the local Black Stars were very defensive. Eagles killed off the game against South Africa and Mozambique with a display of ruthless finishing, but could not do same against their perennial rivals and resulted in a third playoff that they will now battle Zimbabwe, while Ghana had the bragging rights.

Super Eagles never gave up hope of taking third place of CHAN as Keshi motivated his boys to finish the tournament in style when they face Zimbabwe in the play-off.

While it’s the first time Nigeria plays in the CHAN tournament and are happy to get as far as this stage on their first attempt, Nigeria claimed the bronze medal after a hard-fought 1-0 win over the 10-men of Zimbabwe in Cape Town where Chinonso Obiozor playing his first match of the competition, looked a constant threat with his pace and power and having come close on a number of occasions, finally got his reward on 85 minutes in the third-place playoff in the final five minutes as the Super Eagles labored past their stubborn opponents.

However, looking at the performance of Nigeria’s Super Eagles at the tournament, they showed that they were indeed slow starters; they have been responsible of turning out sleepy display in the opening minutes of their games against Mali and Mozambique in the group stage of the tournament as well as against Morocco in the quarter finals. The Eagles were not lucky in this regard against Malians which were Eagles first outing, but rallied back to beat the Mozambicans and the Moroccans 4-2 and 4-3 respectively.

Also, conceding early goals in the first few matches they played during the tournament for example against Mozambique, the Super Eagles conceded two goals in the space of 10 minutes; however, the game against Morocco was the height of a bad defending conceding three goals in the space of seven minutes before clawing back to win 4-3 in magnificent style to reach the semis.

In addition, poor communication at the defence, in three games against Mali, Mozambique and Morocco, Keshi’s team showed how not to defend. In the three games the defence was weak and allowed themselves to be overrun. Chigozie Agbim, who is also captain of the team, sure needs to take the lead in barking out instructions to the outfield players as that has been the trait of most top goalkeepers.

Nevertheless, there are positives for Nigeria to take from the jst concluded outing; coming third in her debut appearance was a thing of joy and also an avenue for the home based Eagles to prove themselves to make the list for World Cup in Brazil as big boss Keshi exposed that, about five players from the 2014 CHAN will be considered for places that excelled during the just concluded CHAN to the World Cup and has refused to mention name, but likely players includes Ejike Uzoenyi, Kunle Odunlami and Rabiu Ali, who were picked by CAF in the tournament XI.

CHAN Most Valuable Player Ejike Uzoenyi will be top of that list to make Eagles squad come June for the World Cup in Brazil. A tremendous display from the player after a return of three goals assists for his other team mates and three man of the match awards. Keshi singled out the Enugu Rangers left winger for special praise, Uzoenyi did well to be part of CHAN and it is believed that he has attracted some serious interests overseas as a result who will now be a viable option for the left side of the Eagles attack as Italy-based Nnamdi Oduamadi has struggled to convince lately in that position.

Also, Sunshine Stars FC central defender Odunlami Kunle who currently eyes World Cup played the whole six matches in CHAN displaying good marking skills, made the team of the tournament after a laudable display, touted to be Super Eagles Fabio Cannavaro in the making. He has shown he has the qualities to play at this level and seen by many to replace Godfrey Oboabona.

Kano Pillars midfielder Rabiu Ali, great passer, best player in Nigeria Premier league last season, brace against Mozambique, effective goal-scoring responsibilities, creativity and providing inventive spark in the midfield stands him out from the rest of the team can make him enough to contest with Sunday Mba for a place in the Eagles midfield.

Eagles Strikers Ifeanyi Ede and Gbolahan Salami made a considerable impact in the competition, Ede scored in the destruction of Mozambique and host country South Africa during the group stage matches and formed of an enviable partnership with Uzoenyi while Salami blessed with blistering pace and good ball control, started his scoring campaign against Mali, though didn’t find the back of the net again as injury forced him out.

Defenders Benjamin Francis and Solomon Kwambe could also be considered as they have been part of the full international team even though they did not impress in South Africa. Francis had a disappointing tournament, still has a long way to go as a potential contender for Elderson Echiejile’s. Kwambe made a great impact, supported the attacking line-up with his overlapping runs and threatened opposing defenders. Kwambe recovery rate was thin as he failed to return to his primary role of position on time.

Agbim let himself down by some questionable goalkeeping at CHAN his show during the competition raised eyebrows over his eligibility to be Nigeria’s no 1 not only that, but as third choice to Vincent Enyeama and Austin Ejide in the main Super Eagles’ team, he will now have to fight to be the third goalkeeper to the World Cup in June.

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) must also look at the option of getting coaches from league clubs to handle the next team for the 2016 CHAN as most observers agreed that the best players in the Nigeria league were not in South Africa. These coaches, who will be answerable to the coach of the full international team, should be given part-time contracts and allowed to return to their clubs after national team duty. And preparations for CHAN 2016 in Rwanda must start in earnest.

Leadership: What Goodluck Jonathan can learn from Stephen Keshi – Ogunyemi Bukola

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Staff Reporter

Successful leadership, be it in business, politics or sports, operates on identical underlying principles. As such, successful leaders learn from one another across the different sectors of life and terrain of leadership in which they operate. Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, has a lot to learn about leadership, and he has plenty of options to choose from. But he needs not look far. In his mostly unremarkable government, the sports sector, especially football, especially the national male football team, Super Eagles, have enjoyed unprecedented success. This due in no small parts to the efforts of the Glo/CAF African Football Awards 2014 Coach of the Year, Stephen Keshi.

Since his appointment in 2011, Keshi has led Nigeria to qualification for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, which they went on to win, becoming one of only two people (along with Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary) to have won it as both a player and a coach, secured qualification to the 2014 World Cup and is through to the semi-final of CHAN2014. Keshi’s success has not been accidental, and in his handling of the team, some particularly stellar leadership attributes shine through that the man from Otuoke can learn from.

Leaders deliver results, not excuses: Jonathan has a readymade excuse for why nothing is working in Nigeria. From corruption to terrorism to poor state of infrastructure nationwide, none is due to Jonathan’s inability/failure to effect change. Past Nigerian leaders, the opposition, the children of anger, some aggrieved ethnicities, these are the groups responsible for everything that is wrong with Nigeria. And this has gone a long way in entrenching the culture of complacency in his largely incompetent team who know they are not to blame for failure. Keshi as Super Eagles manager has an opposite philosophy, get results and you won’t have to give excuses. And this has worked for him, as the team knows a bad pitch or weather and even biased officiating is not a reason to lose.

Leaders make sacrifices, especially big sacrifices: “To save Nigeria, we must all be prepared to make sacrifices. On the part of Government, we are taking several measures aimed at cutting the size and cost of governance, including on-going and continuous effort to reduce the size of our recurrent expenditure and increase capital spending. In this regard, I have directed that overseas travels by all political office holders, including the President, should be reduced to the barest minimum” – Goodluck Jonathan (January 2012)

“Our administration believes that the cost of governance in the country is still too high and must be further reduced. We will also take additional steps to stem the tide of corruption and leakages. Foreign travel by government personnel will be further curtailed” – Goodluck Jonathan (January 2014)

In the two years between the two statements from Goodluck Jonathan above, he has spent over N3 billion on foreign trips, recurrent expenditure has increased to 72% of overall government spending, Aso Rock feeding and entertainment budget has stayed at N1 billion and Mr President is planning to acquire an 11th aircraft for the presidential fleet.

Keshi and his assistants on the other hand are being owed a total of 7 months’ salary and allowances running into about N78 million. In the face of this, he has ensured that no player is owed match bonuses and has not failed to deliver results on the pitch. Jonathan and his aides are living in obscene opulence while asking Nigerians to make sacrifices for the nation’s development. Errrrr, it all starts with you sir.

You are only as good as your team: Since his accidental ascendancy to the highest political office in Nigeria, Mr Jonathan has managed to assemble arguably the worst Federal Executive Council since return to democratic rule in 1999. Men and women of low competencies, questionable character and proven records of corruption/mismanagement have been given control of sensitive positions in return for political devotion. Mr Jonathan has shown that he values political loyalty above competency, and that is politics, not leadership. In this regard, he should learn how Keshi picks his team, making sure the best available players are selected, not those who spent more time with the press praising his managerial skills.

Leaders know what and when to celebrate: One of the most disappointing moments of Jonathan’s presidency for me was when he told CNN’s Christine Amanpour during an interview that power situation in Nigeria has vastly improved and Nigerians are happy with his administration in that regard. Amanpour went ahead to disprove this claim so effortlessly. In truth power generation had increased to more than 4000MW then, but that hardly calls for celebration and smugness considering that Nigeria needs about 20,000MW to stand any chance of being one of the top 20 economies in the world by 2020. Jonathan stops short of calling a party for every hundred MW added to the national grid or every kilometre of road patched. Mister, it’s like celebrating victory after winning the first free-kick in a football match. Keep calm and get to work, like Keshi does. Don’t pop the champagne until the trophy is in the cabinet.

Leaders know the people are priority: I do not understand the polimathics of FIFA rankings, and I got even more confused when in December 2013 Nigeria slipped three places from 33 to 36 despite having arguably the best year of all African teams. So was Keshi, but something struck me about his response:

“I am shocked (by the latest rankings). We won the Africa Cup of Nations this year, qualified for the World Cup and four-time world champions Italy held us to a draw, so I am surprised. We should continue to win and make Nigerians proud because that is what is most important to me and Nigerians. If we remain in wherever we are in the ranking and keep winning and Nigerians are happy, then I am happy.”

This contrasts sharply with the selective acceptance game Jonathan’s government plays with global governance and human development rankings. It is not unusual to see Mr Jonathan’s media aides base their principal’s successes on positive comments from international organizations like the World Bank and IMF. When however, the spotlight is on corruption and poverty, in which the report is almost always unfavourable, they swing to action and give a thousand and one reasons why such reports are inaccurate.

Failure to realize that democracy is a government of the people, and the most acceptable index is the people’s assessment, is the foundation of Mr Jonathan’s woeful performance as Nigeria’s president. And as long as he continues to seek acceptance from local power blocs and international organizations at the detriment of the wishes of the people, the story is not likely to change.

If Jonathan is to record any success worth remembering as he enters the final year of his presidency, he should learn from how Keshi has managed to turn around the fortunes of a Super Eagles team that failed to qualify for the nations cup into African champions. While Keshi has proven to be Nigeria’s most successful football coach, Mr Jonathan might just be the worst president in Nigeria’s modern democratic history. It’s all about leadership.

Ogunyemi Bukola (@zebbook) writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

OMOJUWA.COM

Latest Nigerian News | Naija News | Breaking News

Tag Archives: CAF