Post CHAN Championship: The True State Of Nigeria's Football








The CHAN competition has come and gone so it is time to reflect on the highs and lows; the positives and the negatives from a Nigerian's perspective. Before I lose you, the full meaning of CHAN is African Nations Championship. This is not to be mixed up with the African Cup of Nations which is the apex competition as far as football in Africa is concerned.

The CHAN competition was set up by the previous CAF administration under Issa Hayatou. The whole idea is to offer a platform for footballers based in Africa to showcase their talents since AFCON is usually dominated by foreign-based players.

... back to CHAN 2018, according to various journalists who monitored the home-based team, they concluded that the preparation was not the best for the team. In addition to this, it was speculated that some of the best home-based players were not selected into the final squad. I can attest to this - I couldn't understand why Sikiru Olatubosun did not make the cut but hey, it coach Salisu Yusuf's call .


Majority of the fans and media alike did not give the team any chance of progressing to the latter stages of the competition even though on paper our group seemed reasonably easy. The team against all odds went all the way to the finals and faced host Morocco (arguably the best team in the competition). It was a given that Morocco would win the game, but what was not anticipated was the score margin. We were walloped by 4 to nil.



Positives
  • The home-based team showed a lot of courage and fighting spirit which was pivotal to their progress in the competition.
  • It was clear to all that Nigeria has talents in abundance. It was reflected in some individual display of some players
  • They got to the finals against all odds. In the quotes of former flying eagles coach Fanny Amun, ''we wobbled and fumbled into the finals''.
  • Dele Ajiboye who replaced Ikechukwu Ezenwa due to an injury sustained in the semifinals put in some superb saves. He literarily prevented us from being eliminated in the game against Sudan.

   Negatives
  • To be candid, the team were not cohesive. They kept on making errant passes, their decision making was quite pathetic.
  • The technical crew could not change the game situation particularly when we got a red card in the finals,but they could have changed the game tactics.
  • It is quite challenging to filter out any outfield player that could really break into the mainstream Super Eagles' team 
The overall  teams' performance is a true reflection of the Nigeria football league. In my opinion, the Nigeria football federation has not demonstrated its willingness to put the necessary framework in place for   football development



Without a proper football system and structure put in place, we will continue to grope in the dark ages of football. On face value, it may seem that the football federation is performing well but their significant milestones is only restricted to the Super Eagles (The National Team). Until we fix our football foundation and put the necessary structure that will aid organic development , we will continue to churn out performances as seen by the Chan Eagles.

The reason why we solicit for foreign-born Nigerians is we don't believe in the players plying their trade in the local league. The Nigeria Football Federation needs to realise that they are the custodians of our football as a whole and not just the national team.



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