Our Magnificent Football House

It is important that I start by praising our dear President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR) for doing us the honour of agreeing to come personally to open the building on Thursday, 18th July, 2013.This gesture further cements what we have always known: That Mr. President is an ardent […]

It is important that I start by praising our dear President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR) for doing us the honour of agreeing to come personally to open the building on Thursday, 18th July, 2013.
This gesture further cements what we have always known: That Mr. President is an ardent football fan and a passionate lover of the youth of this country, because it is the youth that play the game.
Several years ago, even as Vice President then, Mr. President would always found time out of his busy schedule of state to attend international football matches hosted by Nigeria, and we also remember how he surprised all of us, pleasantly, by attending the training session of the Super Eagles in Abuja before their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Liberia in Monrovia.
That visit to the team’s training, provided the tonic that saw the team qualify for the competition (Mr. President told the players and officials that he wanted to be in South Africa for the finals and that could only be possible if we qualified) and his words of encouragement and promises gingered the team to triumph in South Africa.
When the team won the trophy in Johannesburg on 10th February, President Jonathan approved a chartered flight to convey players and all officials back to Abuja, and then spoilt the players and their officials with cash and land gifts in Abuja.
Thank you very much, Mr. President.
I will also commend the efforts of the Presidential Task Force on Super Eagles’ Qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which came up with the idea in the first place. The task force, to nudge your memory, was established by late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua in 2009 to complement the efforts of the Nigeria Football Federation towards seeing the Super Eagles qualify for the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010.
As it was, the Eagles had played a 0-0 draw with Mozambique in Maputo in the opening match of the final group phase. The Federal Government, much desirous of seeing Nigeria participate at the first FIFA World Cup finals to be held on African soil, came up with the task force.
The task force raised some money for the project and at the end of its task, still had a tidy sum in the bank. Then, it came up with the idea of the Football House, which today sits proudly in the Package B of the National Stadium, Abuja as a testament to a vision and the fulfilment of a mission.
Plaudits aplenty for all persons who were in the task force, as well as the realisation of a goal that now surely elevates Nigeria football in terms of a befitting corporate headquarters for the football governing-body.
Praises also go to the Honourable Minister/Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, who set the date for the turning of the sod for the construction in February 2012 and gave clear instructions that the contractors must not only do a great job, but that they should also work to the exact details of the project, without variation and within budget.
No doubt, our youthful Sports Minister has continued to work earnestly and assiduously in the interest of the Nigeria youth, setting great pace for the transformation of the game in the country, in line with the agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
I was delighted to hear Architect Gambo, supervisor of the project, tell the world on Wednesday that the contractors had worked within the budget and without variation. Not only have they done a magnificent job, they have also hearkened to the directives of the Honourable Minister.
The Nigeria Football Federation is very much delighted at the successful completion of the project and promises that the administration of the nation’s football can only get better with this glorious edifice.
The Football House is a one-storey structure with a penthouse and boasting 27 offices and several meeting rooms, which is very much consistent with the structure of FIFA headquarters itself and compares favourably with the very best headquarters of Football Federation anywhere in the world.
Come Thursday, Mr. President will be joined by the Honourable Minister and some other cabinet ministers to inaugurate this marvelous edifice for the use of the Nigeria Football Federation. The House will also stand as a symbol of the most important factor that unites all Nigerians from far and near, breaking barriers of region and religion and forging.
Congrats, Gov. Imoke…
This is to congratulate the Executive Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, CON on his 52nd birthday, on Wednesday, 10th July, 2013.
As I said in our letter of congratulation, Governor Imoke has done so much for Nigeria football in the past few years, for the Super Eagles and the Golden Eaglets especially. He also hosted the Super Eagles when they returned from South Africa with the Africa Cup of Nations.
We thank you, Governor Imoke, and wish you a Happy Birthday and many, many Happy Returns.
NEXT WEEK: National Technical Centres