Our goodluck jersey unveiled!

Special appreciation to the Director -General of the National Sports Commission, Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye, who stood in for the Hon. Minister of Sports and Chairman, NSC, Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi; the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Adamu Gumba; Chairman of the House Committee on Sports, Hon. Godfrey Gaiya; Mr. Andre Venter, Head of […]

Special appreciation to the Director -General of the National Sports Commission, Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye, who stood in for the Hon. Minister of Sports and Chairman, NSC, Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi; the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Adamu Gumba; Chairman of the House Committee on Sports, Hon. Godfrey Gaiya; Mr. Andre Venter, Head of Africa, Supersport and; Members of the NFF Executive Committee and Management.
It was a gorgeous, though brief event, and the words of Hon. Elegbeleye about the marvelous efforts of the present NFF administration came as sweet music. He also went ahead to implore the NFF to “continue the good work, and let the Goodluck continue.”
It is true that in several fora over the past few months, the contributions of the NFF Executive and Management to the success of the National Teams have been barely acknowledged. There have been oversight here and there, but I don’t want to believe this had been deliberate, neither would I want to blame anyone.
The truth is, the contributions of the present NFF to the successes of the various National Teams can never be erased. History would be kind to this administration. If we would get the blame for poor results, it is only appropriate that we be acknowledged for positive accomplishments.
The kind words of Hon. Elegbeleye, representing the Hon. Minister, showed that the National Sports Commission fully appreciates the efforts of the NFF, and would not do anything deliberately to put us in the background.
Hon. Elegbeleye recounted the successes of recent, including triumph at the Africa Cup of Nations, qualification for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 and the ‘golden bronze’ (to use the words of His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan himself) secured at the 3rd African Nations Championship in South Africa.
The concept behind the design, as I said in my speech which was read by the NFF Vice President, Chief Umeh, was to strike a balance between tradition and innovation.
“In full appreciation of the stature of the FIFA World Cup and the stature of our Super Eagles as champions of Africa, our kit suppliers, Adidas has designed a new jersey for Nigeria for the big showpiece event.
“The new jersey, distinguished persons, ladies and gentlemen, strikes a balance between tradition and innovation, and in the intense green is captured the message of a young, vibrant and fresh team, and a nation brimming with talents and potentials.
“Adidas remains the leading kit manufacturers in the world, and has been in the business of designing and manufacturing wears for the FIFA World Cup since the inception of the competition in 1930! In essence, they are highly experienced in the designing of world class jerseys for teams like Spain, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Japan and Nigeria.
“Also captured in the intense green is the fact that the African champions are a dark horse team for the FIFA World Cup. There are those who believe that it is Africa’s time to cause upset, by lifting the World Cup. The NFF, Adidas and millions of Nigerians are that optimistic.”
I also wish to say a big ‘Thank You’ to Mr. Andre Venter, Head of Africa for Supersport, who came all the way from South Africa, and had very kind words to say about the NFF.
Supersport, our broadcast partner in whom we are well pleased, have been doing a lot to support the development of football in Nigeria, and indeed the whole of Africa. i am aware of the certificate programme in management development that they run annually, in the interest of budding sport managers in the continent, and to the benefit of the African continent in the very near future.
A number of NFF officials, in marketing, communications and organisation have benefitted from this programme, and these officials have told me that the value of what they learn from the modules can be better experienced than imagined.
It was also important to see Super Eagles’ players, goalkeeper Chigozie Agbim, midfielder Abdullahi Shehu and Ejike Uzoenyi wear the jersey and show how comfortable they were in it.
Assistant Coach, Daniel Amokachi, was vibrant about the jersey, and likened the colours to what was worn in the glory days of Nigeria lifting the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time, in 1980, and also when himself and a number of others won the Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996. Both were first achievements. Does it mean the Super Eagles will win the World Cup for the first time in Brazil?
I believe so, and so do NFF, Adidas, and scores of millions of Nigeria. Let the good work, and the Goodluck, continue!
Next Week: LMC And New Heights For Our League