Former Super Eagles coach and captain of the 1980 AFCON winning Green Eagles, Christian Chukwu has bared his mind on what he thinks is the problem of the team. Chukwu who spoke on Sports Round Up a radio show packaged by Sportsville on Ray Power said the present arrangement in which players fly in two, three days to a match is not how to build a solid national team. Hear him…”So many things are wrong with the Nigerian national team…number one, we can’t be assembling new players everyday and calling it Super Eagles. We need to look inward, come back home and assemble new players and have enough time to train them say for four, five months…I m not saying we don’t need the foreign based players, we only need them to strengthen the team like in the attack…”
On the technical crew, Chukwu said the team’s foreign manager must live in the country insisting that it is wrong for the Eagles gaffer to also fly in with the boys a day or two to a match. “Peseiro should live in Nigeria, monitor the league closely and pick the good ones… we have very good players at home. If we have the nucleus of the team at home, we can then strengthen it with a few foreign based stars…that is how to build a strong national team and not two, three days to a game m, players fly in and you expect them to deliver…” It would be noted that the Eagles lost at home to lowly rated Guinea Bissau by a lone goal last week but redeemed their image by avenging the defeat by the same margin in Bissau return leg in the race to the delayed AFCON 2023 next year in Cote D’Ivoire.
IMC to Iorfa: Behave henceforth or we show you the NPFL exit door
Lobi Stars FC has been fined a total of N2million for infractions of the Framework and Rules of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) following incidents that led to late kickoff of their MatchDay 10 fixture in Gombe against Doma United. The Club’s Executive Vice Chairman, Dominic Iorfa was also issued a stern warning for his role in the disruption of the start of the game. The Interim Management Committee (IMC) in a Summary Jurisdiction signed by Davidson Owumi, the Head of Operations, also expressed displeasure at the unsporting conduct of fans of the host team, Doma United during the said fixture. He said some of the match Officials have been summoned for inhouse administrative procedure with a view to determining their actions on the day, before and during the match. Lobi Stars were charged for breaches of Rule B13.26, C1.1, and C 9. The charge read, “You are in breach of Rule B13.26 of the Frameworks and Rules of the Nigeria Premier football League, in that on Sunday 26th of March 2023, in the course of Match Day 10 Fixture: Doma United FC vs. Lobi Stars FC, your Vice-Chairman, Mr. Dominic Iorfa, caused disturbances and disruptions that delayed the kick-off for the match”.
Iorfa was also found to be complicit in acts capable of bringing the game to disrepute in breach of Rule C1.1 Lobi was also found in breach of Rule C.9 for failing to “control your officials and ensure their proper conduct which resulted in the disruption of Match Day proceedings”. The Club was consequently fined 1.5million for disturbances and disruptions caused by their team that led to delayed kickoff. Another fine of 500,000 was imposed on Lobi Stars for “failing to control and ensure the proper conduct of your official(s)”. The club has been ordered to pay the fine within 14 working days. Lobi must communicate it’s acceptance of the decision in writing within 48 hours or elect to appear before a panel. In the matter of Doma United, the IMC noted that “all stakeholders, including fans and supporters, are expected to act in the best interest of the game and comply with the principles of fair play, sportsmanship, as well as the rules and regulations governing the League, at all times”. Consequently, Doma United were warned that a repeat of such conduct would lead to sanctions on their home ground, the Pantami Stadium.
