By John Egbokhan
Nigeria’s Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Sani Ndanusa, has said that  the qualification of Kano Pillars and Heartland of Owerri for the semi-final of the CAF Champions League, has shown that Nigeria is blessed with talented players and that all that is needed to

SPORTS MINISTER

take them to greatness is time-tested, upright and forward thinking administrators.

Kano Pillars and Heartland, at the weekend, qualified for the semi-final stage of Africa’s premier club competition and both sides are pitched to clash in a semi-final tussle in the first week of October.

They achieved this aim by upstaging the likes of former champions, Etolie Du Sahel and Al-Meriiekh, in a round-robin group stage that saw each team playing a total of six matches, with the first two sides from the two groups berthing in the decisive knockout phase.

They achieved this remarkable feat in the midst of the growing uncertainties surrounding Nigeria’s qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the attendant poor play by the Europe-based players, which has brought to the fore, the need to unearth talented players from the domestic league.

And speaking yesterday with Sports Vanguard, the Chairman of the NSC, Ndanusa, feels that the passage of Pillars and Heartland in the Champions League have positioned Nigeria to strongly challenge for world football relevance, given the nature of players and administrators, who are prosecuting their respective campaigns.

“I have always said and would continue to restate it that Nigeria is blessed with an array of talented and promising players, who can hold their own against any opposition.

“The government is delighted with their performances so far and we wish both teams luck when they confront themselves in the semi-final stage and hope that the better team triumph and go on to win the cup for Nigeria.

“And for the administrators, Pillars and Heartland have shown that we have able players in this country and that there is an urgent need to look inwards for development because we cannot go forward if we do not think deeply and grow from what we have”, added Ndanusa.