‘Very sweet, soothing’ World Cup ticket
Nigeria’s Super Eagles penultimate Saturday defeated the Zambian national team to become the first African country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Russia next year. The tense match was settled by a 74 minute Alex Iwobi goal to send football lovers present at the Akwa Ibom Stadium and across the world into a […]
Nigeria’s Super Eagles penultimate Saturday defeated the Zambian national team to become the first African country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Russia next year. The tense match was settled by a 74 minute Alex Iwobi goal to send football lovers present at the Akwa Ibom Stadium and across the world into a frenzy of celebration. The early qualification with a handful of games to spare is a relief to many fans who are used to the team’s usual late struggle in qualifying games.
No one thought that the Gernot Rohr-tutored Eagles would be home and dry after five games when the draws pitched Nigeria against African champions Cameroon and the continent’s powerhouses Algeria and Zambia. The group was dubbed the proverbial group of death with many predicting that the fight for the sole ticket would go down to the wire. But Nigeria went through dominating their opponents in scintillating fashion to reach the World Cup for the sixth time. Nigeria has never had it this easy in World Cup qualifying. Congratulatory messages poured in after the win. President Muhammadu Buhari described the victory and World Cup ticket as “very sweet, soothing” and “a 57th Independence Anniversary gift to the nation.” We join millions of Nigerians in applauding the Super Eagles for this feat.
With eight months to the Mundial, there is more work to be done now. The coach has said he was not carried away by the Eagles’ feat. Rohr, a 64-year-old Franco-German tactician, said he believes that with a fully prepared and united team both on and off the pitch, Nigeria can expect the best performance at next year’s tournament. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has set for the team a semi-final target in Russia. This lofty objective is attainable but only with adequate preparations. The best Nigeria ever achieved was a second round finish in 1994, 1998 and 2014. We failed to move beyond the group stages in 2002 and 2010. To achieve this target, Rohr and his backroom staff will have to monitor the progress of his players at their different clubs, while hoping that they stay injury-free and in top form for the World Cup.
NFF must do everything possible to give the team the best preparation for the World Cup. It should take advantage of the international window to organize top friendly games for the Eagles. With proper planning it will not be difficult to get quality national teams for tune up matches. The issue of bonuses and allowances, which are the usual African problem during the World Cup, must be avoided. They should be nipped in the bud before the competition starts. Our experience during the last World Cup in Brazil when the Federal Government had to deal with money agitation from the Eagles in the middle of the tournament and which derailed our participation, should not repeat itself. Similar agitations at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups forced our early exit. This pitfall must be avoided this time around.
The current NFF leadership had worked tirelessly to resolve all monetary issues by signing sponsorship deals to cater for some of the players and technical crew’s basic necessities. NFF should adopt a frank approach in its relationship with players in which there are no unsustainable promises made and no half-truths told. This strategy will relax the mood and reassure the players. If indeed the NFF is serious about its target of a semi-final place in Russia, all distractive issues must be addressed without any fuss or drama.
Finally, we appeal to the National Assembly to appropriate sufficient funds for the World Cup in 2018 budget. Since there is no budgetary allocation for the 2018 World Cup preparation in the 2017 budget, it is imperative to have sufficient funds available to support every stage of the preparation in order to ensure a successful outing in Russia.
Participation is not enough anymore. It is time to aim much higher.