NIGERIA'S FOOTBALL FLOP

• Maigari
President General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo, has called on Nigerians to stop celebrating the free fall of Nigerian football and instead find lasting solutions to rescue Nigerian football.

Dr. Ladipo was reacting to Nigeria's football plunge which went full circle with the failure of the Dream Team V to pick a ticket for the London 2012 Olympic Games. He said that Nigeria as a nation was paying the price of not planning for the rainy day that threw her into the present precarious situation.

He observed that the Nigerian football administrators had been laying much emphasis on winning without giving a thought to developmental programmes. 'People should stop celebrating the free fall of our football and start seeking ways of reclaming our lost glory. True, we've not been developing the game over the years and have been laying emphasis on winning at all times hence the poor rewards we're reaping now. What we need to do now is to look at restructuring for the improvement of our football.'

'This is the worst period in our football history and I must add that our players and coaches are not living up to expectations. We need to restructure our football for good and forget about winning any championship for a while.' He called for more government and corporate bodies involvement in football, stressing that he saw the unfortunate development coming because we have left many teams unattended to and dreaming of our past glories.

'We need to inject fresh blood into the running of the game, while the government must provide the infrastructure. Football is the only uniting factor for the diverse ethnic groups in Nigeria and it helps boost our image on the international scene. The other major factor that is affecting our football is the infighting that has bedevilled our football.

It's a big shame that instead of us coming together to find a solution to our problems, people are busy celebrating our fall.'