Onochie Anibeze
17 September 2008
Former Nigeria Football Association chairman, Ibrahim Galadima yesterday lamented the defeat of Nigeria's Under 17 team by Benin Republic and blamed the football federation for not retaining Ben Iroha who, together with late Yomi Tella, won the championship in Korea.
It was during his tenure that the likes of Samson Siasia were engaged by the association. They also invited Iroha to take up national assignment but the board was ousted before Iroha could resume. The board of Sani Lulu then retained him. Fanny Amun appointed Yomi Tella when he was scribe of the FA.
It simply follows that the engagement of the three coaches who have made impact for Nigeria can not be directly attributed to the current board who appointed the likes of Jossy Lad, Laddan Bosso and Alphonsus Dike.
"After Ben Iroha worked with Tella to win the Under 17 World Cup, they should have simply asked him to take over the the team. The NFA (now NFF) erred by not retaining Iroha. It is a big mistake that should have been avoided. I thought they would have respected continuity and merit," Galadima said on phone from Kano yesterday.
He was happy that Enyimba beat Al-Hilal 4-1 in Aba Monday to have a chance of advancing to the semi-final of the Champions League. He was worried that Al-Hilal made some moves to influence the officiating in the match and raised alarm. His intervention helped check a situation that could have probably worked against the Nigerians.
"I'm not happy with how CAF has handled some matters especially youth development and referees. The continent's referees leaves much to be desired. They are easily influenced and it would be good for CAF to take this area seriously. The other is what to do with youth football. Nigeria and Ghana have won world championships at Under 17 level. Nigeria and Cameroun have won the Olympic gold. If Africa is doing well at these levels, why is it not reflecting at the senior level? It is something we in Africa have to look at and if CAF leads the way, it will be great."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
