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Nigeria: NFA Bigwigs Hit Portsmouth for Amodu
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This Day (Lagos)
9 May 2008
Posted to the web 9 May 2008
Tunde Sulaiman
Lagos
Top officials of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) are leaving for London tonight en route Portsmouth where they plan to introduce newly appointed Super Eagles coach Shaibu Amodu to senior national team players.
The introduction is billed for Sunday and will hold after Portsmouth's final game of the season against Fulham at Fratton Park.
Amongst the FA bigwigs on the trip to the south coast of England are Chairman Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi, his vice Amanze Uchegbulam, the Board's technical committee head Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi and secretary general Hon Bolaji Ojo-Oba.
Also expected to be at the parley is Amodu, one of his assistants Daniel Amokachi and the team's secretary Dayo Enebi.
However, from all indications only the two national team players plying their trade with Portsmouth - Nwankwo Kanu and John Utaka - are likely to be met as the Eagles other Premiership stars will be involved in the final league games of the season.
Incidentally the trip was originally scheduled for next week to coincide with the FA Cup final. But THISDAYSports exclusively learnt that the FA decided to tinker with the original plan because of the impending FIFA inspection visit.
Officials of the world football governing body are being expected in the country early next week for a final round of inspections of the venues and facilities Nigeria intends to use to host the FIFA U-17 World Cup next year.
So in order to 'kill two birds with one stone' it was decided that they (FA) officials should make a whistle stop visit to England this weekend and return to the country on Monday morning in order to be able to welcome the FIFA team.
Officials did, however, confirm to THISDAYSports that Amodu would be physically present at Wembley Stadium next weekend to watch two of his players in action - Kanu and John Utaka - for one of the finalists, Portsmouth.
The national team handler will then remain behind after the cup final to begin preparing his team for the friendly against Austria taking place in Granz on the 27th of this month.
The friendly is seen as an important part of the build up for the World Cup/Nations Cup sequence of matches taking place in the four weekends of June.
Apart from formally introducing Amodu to the players, the FA hierarchy will also be using the occasion to try and get the players to be committed to the cause of trying to secure progress to the next round of the campaign for tickets to both Angola and South Africa.
FA officials are acutely aware that it might be difficult getting the players to not only report to camp on time but also remain focused on the task at hand especially as the games are taking place on the back of a very demanding season.
"We know that the players will love to take a break after the season, but in view of the way the games have been fixed we have to appeal to their patriotism for them to sacrifice their holidays for the nation.
"We can't afford any slip ups which could make our qualification a difficult task. We hope to start well so that we won't have any sleepless nights along the way," explained the FA official.
In talking with the players it is hoped that agreement can be reached which will ensure their full commitment to the cause.
"On our part we are ready to do all we can to show our appreciation but at the end of the day it is the players themselves that can make or break our World Cup/Nations Cup aspirations," confessed the official, explaining why all the top shots will be present at the meeting.
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It was also learnt that the NFA team would likely get in touch with other players on phone before they depart London on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, Austria has opened camping for their showdown with the Super Eagles on the 27th of the month.
The camp, which began yesterday in Lower Austria's Lindabrunn, will also see the Autrians preparing for the European Championships which they are co-hosting with Switzerland next month.
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