Aliyu Danlami: Kano Pillars absence at Masari Pre-season tourney a big minus

The Commissioner for Sports, Youth and Social Development in Katsina State, Hon. Sani Aliyu Danlami has described the recently concluded Masari Pre-season Football Tournament held at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium Katsina as a huge success. In this interview with Trust Sports, the commissioner who sponsored the competition also spoke on the absence of arch-rivals, Kano […]

The Commissioner for Sports, Youth and Social Development in Katsina State, Hon. Sani Aliyu Danlami has described the recently concluded Masari Pre-season Football Tournament held at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium Katsina as a huge success. In this interview with Trust Sports, the commissioner who sponsored the competition also spoke on the absence of arch-rivals, Kano Pillars, what he is doing to bring in corporate sponsors as well as plans to make the tournament an annual event.

 

What informed your decision to sponsor the recently concluded Gov. Masari Pre-season Cup?

Alhamdulillah. First of all, if you observe, in developed countries where football is flourishing, during holidays, the clubs look inward to see the areas where they need to improve or make amends ahead of the next season. Similarly here at home, after our Nigerian Premier League, every club tries to identify their areas of strength and weakness, in order to make some improvements. So, in Katsina United, after we were done with recruitment of new players, we deemed it necessary to test our team to see how they would perform when the new season commences. As a result, we invited teams from other states to compete for the Governor Masari Cup and through that we would test the strength of our team, as well as, provide opportunities for amateur players to be signed up by other teams.

How would you rate the maiden edition of the tournament?

Well, as you know, this is the maiden edition, but Alhamdulillah, we enjoyed tremendous support from the media in terms of publicity and from the police and other security forces. The tournament was organised in a peaceful atmosphere. So many teams participated and it was done peacefully. In addition, respected club managers from other places have come and assessed the tournament to be successful. More importantly,  I can assure you that in the whole of the country, there was no pre-season tournament in which every participant was treated with fairness like that of the Governor Masari Cup. However, whatever is said to be the first of its kind, there must be some areas where one needs to improve.

What were the challenges in organizing the tournament?

Our major challenge was the failure of Kano Pillars to participate in the tournament. Kano are our neighbours with whom we have inter-marriages, businesses and other ties. We are almost one and the same family. However, we witnessed an ugly incident the last time they played us in Katsina. So, we wanted them to play in the tournament for us to mend our relationship, play as friends and brothers as it used to be. With this in mind, we included Kano Pillars. Unfortunately, there was a ban placed by NPFL with regard to matches between both teams and it is yet to decide where our matches will be played. For that, Pillars could not participate in the competition. That was a major setback for the tournament. We wanted to use the Governor Masari Cup to heal all wounds.

What would you say are the gains of this maiden competition?

We have gained a lot as a state, as a team and for our individual players. As a team, we have competed against the NPFL title holders, Plateau United and we defeated them. We also played against equally strong teams like Wikki Tourists and we came out victorious which shows that our team is up to the task. Interestingly, the tournament exposed some of our young players and some clubs have shown interest in them.  For instance, Zamfara United signed Ibrahim Shamo from our Team B. Wikki Tourists are in talks to sign another player. Similarly, Niger Tornadoes have requested for Umaru Odo. At least some of these players who have no space in Katsina United, for now, have gotten the opportunity to be signed up by other professional club sides from other states.

What plans do you have to sustain the tournament?

Initially, we named the tournament ‘Governor Masari Pre-season’ but towards the end, the ‘Governor’ was removed and it remained ‘Masari Pre-season Tournament’. This is because we want to sustain the tourney beyond the tenure of Govenor Masari as a governor. It is our plan that it will be an annual event.

Do you intend to be the sole sponsor or you are looking towards including corporate sponsors?

There are a lot of businessmen that we could have approached for support but we didn’t. We wanted to see the outcome of the maiden edition. It will interest you to know that after the tournament started, the governor also contributed, personally not as a government, towards the success of the tournament. However, from what we have seen, especially on the day the final match was played, there was a lot of interest from other individuals who indicated their willingness to be part of it. I am, therefore, confident that in subsequent editions, we will bring on board those who are willing to sponsor the tournament.

As Commissioner for Sports and Social Development, how are you using the power of sports to empower the youths of Katsina State?

When you talk about sports, you know that over 75 per cent of those who engage in sports are youths. Therefore, we are doing whatever we can to support, empower them and get them engaged. The ministry was initially sports and youths, but lately a special adviser on youth development was appointed, but we still work closely with him. That is why we came up with ways of supporting smaller teams across the state.

How much support is Governor Masari giving to sports in the state?

The governor is giving tremendous support to sports development in Katsina. For instance, in the past, Katsina United would go several months without salaries and allowances, but I can assure you that there is no single person on the team that is being owed salary or allowance. This is because the governor is committed to prompt payment of salaries. He is also doing the same for all other sports, like basketball, lawn tennis, para-soccer, etc. Also on our part, there was no time that we made a request from the government and it was turned down.

What is the government doing in the area of sports infrastructure?

The governor is committed to the maintenance of our major stadium here in Katsina, which is Muhammadu Dikko stadium. Also at Ahmadu Na Funtua township stadium here in Katsina, the situation is the same. When you go to Malunfashi, they have a stadium renovated and standardized by this administration. The same is applicable to the mini-stadium in Funtua. So the government is committed to the provision of the required facilities for sports development.