By Eze, Edwin Boyeze

The pragmatic attempt by the federal Government to move Nigeria Football forward  which it later rescinded due to pressure from well meaning Nigerians should not be misconstrued. If we weigh the intended action of the government and the reaction of the masses objectively, the simple deduction is that we now have a listening president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who knows how and when   to tag along with the masses.

Had we listened or critically analyzed the input by some of our sports editors the tragedy that visited us in South Africa would have been averted. A lot of sports analysts have advocated that the Shuaibu Amodu’s technical team be fortified with the trio of Stephen keshi, Sampson Siasia, and Sylvanus Okpala; the triple ‘S’, arguing that it was too late in the day to hire a foreign technical adviser, but the clique in the Glasshouse stiffened their necks and  did the exact opposite. Even in Brazil, the former team captain, Socrates 82/86 skipper said similar thing about Brazil, but coach Dunga who he alleged abandoned the Brazillian samba football ignored him , met Netherlands who borrowed samba from Brazil and  bowed to them in humiliation at the quarter finals.

The Super Eagles at the 2010 World Cup.

The way forward
The incoming Nigeria Football Federation members must as a matter of priority revive the comatozed Nigeria football academy. Our success in football in recent time has to do with the success story of Pepsi Football Academy that produced these rising stars: Peter Osaze Odemigwe (Pepsi football Academy Kaduna): John Mikel Obi, Goalkeeper Vanzeki (Pepsi Academy Jos); Onyekachi Apam, onyekachi Okoronkwo (Pepsi Academy Aba); Solomon Okoronkwo, Onyedike Ogbuke (Pepsi Academy Enugu) e.tc

Pilot school sports programme
Nigeria football made waves in the 70’s and early 80’s because principals of secondary schools took interest in giving admission to footballers, and also facilitated their academic pursuit by exempting them from manual labour, paying their school fees, and ensuring that football coaches were posted to their school from state sports councils.

Invariably, great footballers evolved from secondary schools, through the Academicals cup to play themselves into stardom. Some of the great footballers include: Christian Chukwu, J.J. Okocha (National Grammar School Nike);Dr. Peter odili, Dominic Ezeani, Nnamdi Nwokocha (C.K.C Onitsha) Godwin Ogbueze, Kenneth Ilodigwe (STC Nsukka) Patrick Ekeji, Obed Ariri (Holy Ghost College Owerri) Thompson Usiyen (Hussey College Benin); Henry Nwosu (st Finbars College, Akoka) etc. If we must move football forward, our sports ministry should work with schools to select a boarding school of choice in each state of the federation
where screened and selected U-13 players will be sent to read under the watchful eyes of football coaches.

Such U-13 players 24 (twenty four in number)  selected strictly on merit in each state of the federation will form the bedrock of our age group players in the four years. Dr Kasimawo Laloko is already doing that in Orile Imo, Ogun state with
his football College . The U-13 experiment will not stop NFF from sourcing U-17 players from the existing Pepsi football Academy in over 12 centers in Nigeria including some other youth teams flung and scattered all over Nigeria.

To be continued