Nigerian football is at its lowest ebb. That is the unfortunate reality and legacy which Amaju Pinnick left for the new President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau. Apart from the big setback of the country’s failure to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, there were too many inherited problems which Gusau, favourite of Pinnick at the recent election, will have to deal with.

The domestic league is in shambles without a calendar, a title sponsor; coupled with poor welfare for players, poor playing surfaces, bad officiating, insecurity and poor attendance at match venues. There is also the abandoned Federation Cup issue in which eight teams are in the quarterfinals which is yet to be decided in the past two months and the slot of the winner has been given to Kwara United which means the quarterfinalists are playing for nothing.

We are also aware that the defending champions of the knock out competition, Bayelsa United, are yet to be paid their winning prize money for the 2021 edition. The move by the Pinnick board to lure the eight teams into playing through cash incentives was truncated as the teams insisted on having the money in their accounts before they play.

The Super Eagles are not left out of the problems of the last administration as the senior national team players are being owed allowances for the last 13 competitive matches while allowances for international friendlies are yet to be paid in the last two years.

We were delighted to see Gusau appear along with the Sports Minister Sunday Dare last weekend for the CAF Champions League match of Plateau United in Jos. Plateau United came back from a goal down to pip Esperance of Tunisia 2-1. It was heart-warming that all three clubs came from behind to win their matches, with Confederation Cup contenders, Kwara United trouncing Cup holders, RS Berkane of Morocco 3-1 at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos; while Rivers United, in the CAF Champions League, edged holders, Wydad Casablanca of Morocco 2-1 in Port Harcourt respectively.

Gusau has, however, challenged Rivers United, Plateau United and Kwara United to ensure progress into the group stages of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup respectively, following the impressive performances against North African opponents on home soil. “Our teams have done well in the first leg matches, but I want them to go all out in the return games because North African playgrounds are usually difficult ones for most teams. They showed the Nigerian spirit in an excellent way to come from behind and win their matches at home, but they will need to show this spirit in an even more pronounced manner in the second leg matches.

The NFF is backing all three teams to reach the lucrative group stages of their competitions,” the new NFF boss said. We make bold to say the maladministration in the domestic league has been the problem affecting the country’s continental teams and the Eagles B team which again failed to qualify for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) finals a few months back. It is important to state that Gasau will have to woo more sponsors to reduce the burden of debts of the Federation. Many hotels and other service providers are owned by the Federation. The first problem of Gusau is to deal with the debts and earn the trust of sponsors and various service providers of the Federation.

The problems being created by the ex-players with various court cases are also important and need to be resolved. The explayers are asking for more inclusion at the Congress, this can be discussed and achieved for various other stakeholders including the coaches, referees and the sports writers. We believe a committee can look into this with a view of determining the extent or increase or the percentage of expansion. We are aware that the secretariat staff are also owed a backlog of salaries and this is bad for operations.

For Your Home

Gusau should look into the best possible way to revive school football at secondary and tertiary levels to serve as feeders for the age-grade national teams just as the transition of players from one cadre to the other have to be fixed in concrete terms. Eagles Manager, Jose Perseiro, must be encouraged to look inwards for talents and spend more time in Nigeria in order to monitor domestic football.

The expected new league body must ensure the domestic games are on television for Nigerians to see the home-based stars first hand. There must be a deliberate effort to develop the game from the states level, to the zones to boost the grassroots development of football. We must emphasize that there is a huge task ahead of Gusau and the new board of the NFF just as we have to warn them to avoid interference from the former President Pinnick who is still an Executive Member of CAF and a FIFA Council Member.