NATIONS CUP LESSONS FOR NIGERIA.
The unity of the people of
Nigeria is anchored on so many aspects of our daily living, ranging from work,
places of business, etc.
But one that cannot be
controverted, that seems to bring majority together and afford the populace of
Nigeria (the heart of Africa), the chance of speaking with one voice is soccer.
This diversity was submerged with
the national team’s failure to qualify for the just concluded African cup of
nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The failure to qualify for the African
cup of nations was blamed on the numerous football cases we have in legal
courts scattered all across the nation Nigeria. The cases were believed to
divide the concentrations of the governing body in charge of football in Nigeria,
the Nigerian Football Federation, (NFF) and also the lacklustre attitude of our
players.
Now that the African cup of
nations is over and a champion has emerged, what lessons have the Nigerian
Football Federation and our players learnt?
For the Zambians, the tournament
goes beyond winning the trophy. It represents the soul of their departed stars
of 1993 that died in a plane crash off the coast of Gabon, killing all 30
passengers on board on their way to a 1994 world cup qualifier against Senegal.
For the NFF, it should be a
moment of resolving all discrepancies within the glass house and rebuild the
national team to excel in future tournament.
The NFF needs to also learn from
the Zambian model of integrating a large chunk of our home based footballers with
the very few of our foreign based players that play week in - week out in South
Africa and Europe.
The doggedness and unity in the
team is also an anchor to the team’s success. With all the attributes
entrenched in our national team the super eagles, with the avalanche of stars
both at home and abroad can surpass the feat achieved by the Zambians and also
bring back the glory of the nation.
This feat of winning the nations
cup by Zambian is not just by mere mouth but by doing what is right at the
right time. They put square pegs in square holes.
Although, they had their
challenges in the past, but it was resolved all in the interest of the nation.
With an ex – footballer as the
head of football governing house, Kalusha Bwalya is the only surviving member
of the 1993 plane crash. Making him the president of the federation afforded
the chipolopolo of Zambia as they are fondly called, the chance of tapping from
his immense and numerous experiences he has garnered as a player over the
years.
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