Naija!!..some of the U-17 World Cup Media Centres for journalists don't have PCs and internet access..24hrs to the competition starting..& who went to fumigate the pitch,turning the grass frm green to brown.. wat a "great" nation we live in!!JUST like that, I felt a resurgence of inspiration to look forward to another two or three weeks of excitement in sports on African soil, courtesy of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup competition holding in Nigeria from this weekend - and a good outing for the Eaglets. For all it is worth, the best of youths from across the world would be on the big stage to showcase talents in the game of soccer. Reminiscent of the recently concluded Under-20 category in Egypt, football fans should expect no less in entertainment in the cadet championships in Nigeria, starting with the qualifiers in eight centres from October 24.This optimism of course is against the background of the recent deserved victory of Ghana's Under-20 squad in Egypt, a product of skill, hard work, resilience of the boys - all stemming from the organisational capacity of the local football administration. The last factor I believe was a demonstration of re-ordered societal values over a period, following some difficult years for that country on the economic, political and social planes. Credit for that renewed spirit which the Black Satellites ably applied and presented to the world in Egypt of course should go to those leaders who emerged about a decade ago with sincere minds to promote the best of human and Ghanaian values. The focus and the will to make Ghana work again did the magic; the people too were ready to make sacrifices in the interest of the nation. They were toiling while Nigeria slept.The new Ghanaian spirit is the picture Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola - an ardent soccer buff himself - tried to cut in his piece yesterday 'Football is life' where he recommended to Nigerians "a return to the basics", just as Ghana "rebuilt her institutions and entrusted them to men and women who had been tutored in the traditions of the best human values", paving the way for a workable economy, political life and democracy.Any true Nigerian who desires the best for his country should feel depressed by the retrogression in sports development - all sports - in the country, football in particular. There has been no conscious effort to develop the game of football beyond the mediocre level local administrators have carried it and are so contented with their ignorance. They are impervious to criticism even when it is clear their best has not been and might never be good enough for the country.For now, the system only encourages managers to just 'pick and play' for major competitions. What we have on ground is a garbage in-garbage out situation. That is why the Super Eagles would always wait till the very last game of the qualifying rounds of a global competition to determine their suitability for a place among the world best. That is why football administrators would resort to hiring prayer warriors to cause the heavens to effect the downfall of another country's team to allow an easy passage for Nigeria, as if the big stage is reserved for unserious countries.Nigeria '09 is likely to present our youngsters as truly worthy representatives in youth football, thanks to the FIFA-ordered Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests. At least we will now be in a position to truly assess our capabilities for success at that level because real under aged sportsmen are going to step forward to compete. The same goes for other countries in the competition anyway. If at the end we excel, it should call for true celebration of the stuff the country is made of in youth football. But should we wait for FIFA to order tests on bones and teeth or kick against passport-declared ages to tell us what is right?At present, it is a bit difficult to assess the capability of our boys; they are literally rookies - hardly unknown and untested, except for their training tour to Qatar . The only hope the country can hold on to for a rewarding outing is coach John Obuh's assurance to the nation that he has assembled quite good 'shooting stars' who are capable of holding their own on any day. We give him the benefit of the doubt as we pledge our support. It's just that Obuh and his wards should not come back to apologise for some unexpected slip (that has been the fad for a while among our sportsmen). Whatever he needs to do to make an apology become irrelevant should be perfected now.There's nothing bad in being champions again for the fourth time. A champion ought to attract respect really. Ask the losing Germans at Korea 2007. Ask the Brazilians at Egypt '09 against Ghana (for the first time I saw Brazilians crying). The are in a better position to stress that winning is everything. As defending champions at Korea 2007 exploits, the Eaglets are now the team to beat and that is likely to exert some pressure on the boys. But it's all part of the game. At this level, there is nothing like home advantage in a World Cup; that of course would have worked in favour of the Koreans two years ago.A fresh opportunity has been presented by the current FIFA Under-17 show to rebuild a national team that Nigerians can be proud of in the future. Not all them are likely to graduate to that level but at the same time not all them would be discarded as unsuitable. Even from the jaded list featured by coach Samson Siasia in Egypt, there are some promising stars for the future. With proper management of these human resources and other latent talents waiting in the wings, a good manager with an eye for quality will get Nigeria back on the winning path again.Interestingly, many academies are springing up round the country to train and reshape the young ones. This is a good step forward. What remains is to systematically tap and harness the resources for the good of the nation. It is one step to developing world-beaters in the round leather game. The country has had enough of heartaches from its national teams. The Golden Eaglets too would do well to realise that the sky is the starting point for them as they expose their talents to the world in the next few weeks.Africa has never had it so good with FIFA, with the staging of four major global competitions in the continent within a space of time: the Confederations Cup in South Africa, Under-20 World Cup and Under-17 World Cup in Egypt and Nigeria respectively this year, capped by the senior World Cup in under a year from now in South Africa. That is enough for Africa to reciprocate the confidence of the FIFA President Sepp Blatter in the organisational ability of the people and the growing level of the game in the continent.The cup is not beyond the Eaglets' reach if they apply themselves to the task at hand. They have the chance to lift it like any other participating team. That is the same spirit Cote d'Ivoire captain and hit-man for Chelsea FC Didier Drogba is displaying already on the chances of his national team at South Africa 2010. That man's level of confidence is amazing. Africa has risen in global football, perhaps it's time for her to shine at all levels of the FIFA-organised competitions especially at South Africa 2010.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on September 2, 2008 at 11:43pm
Hi 9jabookers !
kini big deal 9jabook ? someone was asking me yesterday .
ok here it is !
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Sites are :
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the open university site free video lectures on almost everything ! We are looking for Deans and lecturers ! You dont have to go to university no more ! i just dey joke o !
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the encycleopedia site well it is time we had an ecncycleopedia for nige.ria or what do you think ?
www.ojoojoo.com ! wetin be dat ? google nigerian sites only !
coming soon !
www.ask9ja.com (figure that out yourself !)
www.9jaX.com ( this site is the future of special effects in nollywood movies check out maya training on www.9jageeks.com)
so now u know kini big deal 9jabook, now you know !
to your success
9jabook Team (dat is You ! and I )
gongo aso
oti so !
no be beans
no be moi moi
na so we dey do
power to the people !
searching for the Nigeri.an dream .
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