Vuvuzela is a serious distraction to football – Ladipo
It is not true. Our activities go beyond supporting football only. We have been supporting other sports as well and it is for this reason that we are football and other sports supporters club. We have supported Nigerian athletes in other sports like boxing where our unflinching support gave victories to the likes of Clay […]
It is not true. Our activities go beyond supporting football only. We have been supporting other sports as well and it is for this reason that we are football and other sports supporters club. We have supported Nigerian athletes in other sports like boxing where our unflinching support gave victories to the likes of Clay Hunter, Bash Ali and recently Samuel Peters. We were part of the 8th All Africa Games where we supported all sports. And that was the very first time that Nigeria came first in the All Africa Games. We are not unmindful of other sports but what the other sports federations need do is to come to us and enlist our support. Whether they like it or not, we have been there for more than 52 years. What we are doing has been selfless and we have done it very successfully and meritoriously. Ours has gone beyond ordinary cheering of athletes and sportsmen. We are ambassadors of Nigeria here and beyond. At different times, we had changed the negative impressions other nationals of the world have about Nigeria. It may interest you to know that both CAF and FIFA have recognized our contributions by giving us the best supporters club award.
But have you made any effort to bring together the supporters clubs of the other sports?
Of course, we have written them severally. Whenever they need our support, we are there for them. We are prepared to bring them under the same umbrella.
Super Eagles have picked tickets for Angola and South Africa 2010. What are you doing to mobilize enough support for the national team?
We in the supporters club don’t wait for whenever it is going to happen. We are always planning ahead of time. I can confidently tell you that today ( Thursday), we are collecting visas from the Angolan embassy for 200 of our members. We have also told our members from the other African countries to join us. As I am sitting down here I can tell you that 200 of our members from the United States are in Nigeria and they are going to be with us. Therefore, Super Eagles should be rest assured that there is going to be enough support for them in Angola and South Africa come 2010. But most importantly, I was in South Africa for the draws and I used the opportunity to talk to members of the supporters club who are based in South Africa. Don’t forget that about 11 months ago, I was in South Africa to launch the supporters club there even as Eagles qualification for the World Cup was still hazy. We believed we would still qualify. We had members in thousands at the ceremony. We are going to play our first match in J’bourg and that is where there is a whole lot of concentration of Nigerians. Of course we have them in Pretoria and Cape Town but more Nigerians can be found in J’bourg. Therefore, we are going to have a full house for Eagles. Two days ago, members of the supporters club in J’Bourg came home and met with me and we are working on the best strategies to give the team the desired support in Angola and South Africa. Nigeria’s Ambassador in South Africa, General Buba Marwa (rtd) is deeply involved and committed. In addition, we are going to set up the Nigerian village in J’Bourg.
What arrangements are you making to kit members of the supporters club? Will there be souvenir jerseys for them?
The Nigerian Football Federation has not told us anything and we are not going to distribute kits free of charge to members of the supporters club. Whatever they have will be paid for. But beyond that the supporters club over time, we have always gone there with several kits. However, what we have discovered from Nigerians over there is that they want these kits to be given to them free of charge. This is not how it is supposed to be. Anybody who wants to support a team must be ready to pay for the kits because the production of these kits cost us money. But like I said, we are going to do our best to ensure that we go there with enough kits that will be most affordable.
The Nigerian football and other sports supporters club is one of the beneficiaries of Globacom’s sponsorship of football in Nigeria and so the communication company’s frosty relationship with the NFF and NPL must be a source of concern to you. How worried are you about the decision of Globacom to dump Nigerian football?
Indeed, I am seriously worried because I have been a part of everything. A lot of people may not know the role in played before the Nigerian Premier League landed that sponsorship deal with Globacom. I am one of the facilitators. The same applies to Globacom deal with NFF. I want to say that the recent development is not a good one at all. But I still have the belief that the disagreement will be resolved amicably for the benefit of the sport in the country. But let me tell you that our relationship with Globacom is still very intact. Our contract with Globacom still exists and by January, the communication company will pay us the sponsorship fee for 2010.
Could you disclose the amount?
No!, I won’t ( Laughter)
We learnt that you are having problems with the advent of vuvuzela into Nigerian football. How true is this?
First Vuvuzula is not part of our culture. It should be discouraged with all vehemence. We in the supporters club will not encourage the use of vuvuzula to support our football. We have our own distinct way of way of supporting football in Nigeria. We have the talking drums, the trumpet, we have songs that carry messages for the players. Even FIFA and CAF enjoy these songs. Countries are beginning to emulate us in doing this and so vuvuzula is a complete distraction to the support of football. Even at the last FIFA Confederation Cup that was organized in South Africa, six of the participating countries complained. The players complained that they could not hear one another. The broadcast media complained. FIFA is also trying to see how Vuvuzula could be used for just one minute, when a game starts and then stop immediately for the various countries to carry on with their diverse ways of supporting their teams.