Bringing back the glory of the Nigerian football league Most of the Nigerian players who are famous in Europe and other continents and have...
Bringing back the glory of the Nigerian football league
Most of the Nigerian players who are famous in Europe and other continents and have attracted the popularity and value of the teams who play the game, started from the domestic games.
By Abdulwasiu Hassan
In football, as in life, confidence is useful. And what will be a greater testimony to the joy of the game than the search for players in teams.
Nigerian fans who are interested in the domestic league continue to hope to see the return of the country's football glory - when they saw how the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium, popularly known as Onikan Stadium, was packed with people. in the finals of the Naija Super 8 last few weeks
"Who said that our football league will not be profitable," said a football fan.
The way the stadium was packed in the match played on July 16 between Sporting Lagos and Remo Stars was something that Nigerians have been waiting for a long time.
They know that the local football league has a following - it's just a matter of making sure everything goes right.
Sporting Lagos defeated Remo Stars in penalty kicks to become Naija Super 8 champions on the day.
The Naija Super 8 is a competition held during the autumn holidays in Nigeria, "which was created to bring back the fun and excitement in the domestic competition and to instill passion in the sport to take the game to the next level," said the organizers of the competition.
When on the summit
There are times when Nigerian football teams are so strong that they give the national team good players who play in different competitions such as the African Cup and the World Cup.
The strength of the domestic competition has made the fans of the competition follow the situation many times. Not only do they fill the stadium every time their teams play, they also follow them wherever they play.
The success of the domestic competition in recent years has had an impact on the country's biggest football team, where the Super Eagles team reached the highest level of FIFA in 1994 - it became the fifth in the world and the 1st in Africa.
Over the years, the ability of the domestic league to produce players like the Super Eagles like Segun Odegbami, Daniel Amokachi, Jay-Jay Okocha, Kanu Nwakwo and Osaze Odemwingie has been declining.
Monitoring and control work
"The power that the government has in the ownership of the football club is a big problem," as David Ngobua, sports editor of Daily Trust newspaper, told TRT Afrika.
"It should not be said that this is the case, because in other countries where football is played well, the governments have nothing to do with sponsoring or establishing teams like we do in Nigeria."
"For example, if we look at Nigeria's top football team at the moment, there are only three teams that will compete in the NPLF competition next season and not the government. The rest are all owned by state governments," he said
The accusations of unfair refereeing and lack of security in the viewing area have made football fans and spectators tired of the incident.
Before the finals of the Naija Super 8, most of the games that were played were not attended by many spectators, but this one was seen by many.
The low level of opinion of the tax-paying public prevents the clubs from getting the income they should get from the agreements to broadcast the game in the media and the products and the money that is earned from playing the game. What this means is that the country's economy is denied the opportunity to benefit from these things.
Compare yourself to Europe
Experts believe that the domestic football competition will greatly benefit from the economic system that anyone can invest in, where most of the team owners will be private individuals or organizations.
"Football clubs should be owned by private companies. They are more successful if that is the case,” said Ngobua.
When football started as a profession in Nigeria, teams like Leventis United, Ranchers Bees of Kaduna, BBC Lions of Gboko, Udoji United and Nwayanwu Nationale all tried.
According to Ngobua, although the finalists in the Naija Super 8 competition, including Sporting Lagos and Remo Stars, are not owned by the government and have shown the success that clubs can achieve if they are in the hands of the owners. independent.