NRA strike: NPL clubs count losses

It will be recalled that following the emergence of Mr. Chris Giwa as the new president of the Nigeria Football Federation at the controversial August 26 congress in Abuja, so many things happened in quick successions to force him out of office.Even before FIFA stepped in, different pressure groups like the Association of football coaches […]

It will be recalled that following the emergence of Mr. Chris Giwa as the new president of the Nigeria Football Federation at the controversial August 26 congress in Abuja, so many things happened in quick successions to force him out of office.
Even before FIFA stepped in, different pressure groups like the Association of football coaches in Nigeria, the guild of sports editors and a host of others condemned his emergence as NFF president.
Consequently, FIFA, the world football governing body eventually ordered Giwa to leave office or Nigeria would be banned. Although FIFA’s orders are not to be taken lightly by its affiliate members, Giwa insisted on staying in office as NFF president.
Not oblivious of what would be the ultimate decision of FIFA, if Giwa stuck to his guns, many Nigerians called on the relevant authorities to intervene in the matter. Thus, the House Committee on sports waded into the crisis and after listening to all the contending parties, ordered that Giwa should stop parading himself as NFF president as directed by FIFA.
In attempt to stop cripple Giwa’s wings, every available instrument was to be deployed. Consequently, the Nigeria Football Referees Association, NRA, also joined the fight by withdrawing its members from all the segments of the Nigerian league.
As a result, for two weeks, the Nigeria Premier League, the National League and the Women League came to a halt. Although the leadership of NRA did not come out to state categorically that the association was fighting against Giwa, the hand writing on the wall was very clear.
The NRA leadership said its men would return to action only when normalcy returned to Nigerian football. It did not take long for the fragile peace which is prevailing to return because Giwa was successfully removed and FIFA’s hammer also averted.
Now, the league is back on course but two weeks have been lost and the clubs are counting their losses. It will be recalled that the 2013/2014 season did not start in time and as it is nobody can say exactly when the season will come to an end.
Top Nigerian football coaches have viewed the recent strike by Nigeria Referees over the crisis in Nigerian football with mixed feelings.
African coach of the year award winner and Technical Adviser of Enyimba FC of Aba, Kadiri Ikhana said the forced break made his team to lose its steam.
Ikhana who said he is not blaming the arbiters for taking such a decision, explained that the confusion caused by the crisis was enough for them to act the way they did.
According to him, his only concern is that it broke the flow of things in his team as the players lost a bit of concentration which affected their performance in the match against Akwa United on Wednesday.
“My team was hot and inform and we were ready to go but all of a sudden the crisis started and the confusion over who is in control set in. The referees to me, did not want to take sides, so they downed tools.
“At that moment all the leagues in the country were brought to a halt and everyone was now concerned and I think if they have not done that we may still have been where we were.
“Thank God is all over but I must tell you that my team was affected negatively. As expected we dropped in form and you know it takes time to pick up. My prayer is that such should not happen again as we need stability in our football league,” Ikhana said.
Speaking in the same vein, Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt Technical Adviser, Mr Stanley Eguma said the break affected the team as they were having a good run before the break.
Eguma noted that the referees action mostly distorted his team’s build up as can be seen on their return from the break.
He said he was happy that the impasse was resolved in time for the league to resume. The coach also expressed confidence that his team will recover its lost steam in the shortest possible time.
“There is no denying the fact that the break has affected my team. We have lost concentration and momentum. However, we would continue to work hard now that the league has resumed,” he said.
Kano Pillars FC skipper, Theophilus Afelokhai said the break has helped his team to correct some of their mistakes in the ongoing season.
“We benefited from the break in our club. We used the period to fine tune areas we were having challenges. We were not expecting it but when the referees decided not to officiate matches, we on our part did not relax,” he said.
From the foregoing it can be seen that the decision of the NRA to boycott the league was politically motivated but in the end, it contributed in no small measure to restoring sanity in Nigerian football.
It is said if not for the shutdown of the leagues, not many people would have felt the gravity of the crisis which threatened the survival of Nigerian football.