Nigerian Football
WHO OWNS NIGERIA FOOTBALL: THE INVESTOR OR THE PROMOTER?
On Thursday August 30, the congress of the Nigeria professional football league rose from a meeting in Abuja and decided among other things, to end the league abruptly in week 24, citing CAF’s deadline for registration of continental teams as reason for their action.
The NPFL Congress also crowned Lobi stars of Makurdi champions of the 2017/2018 football season while also declaring that all 20 NPFL club sides will stay put in the division, meaning no team will be relegated while four will be promoted from the NNL, to increase the number of participating teams in the 2018/2019 season to 24.
These decisions were greeted with mixed reactions at birth. While some vehemently criticized the move, others felt it was the best solution under the present circumstance.
The Nigeria National league on their part frowned at the manner with which the elite league came to these hasty conclusions without properly consulting with the NNL, to allow both league bodies properly work out the best possible solution going forward.
Based on what they describe as disrespect to the lower league, the congress of the NNL, decided that, since the NPFL in it’s wisdom refused to relegate the four bottom teams in accordance with the rules guiding the conduct of the league, they are proposing that eight teams be promoted to the NPFL, jettisoning the season ending Super Eight, a competition that decides the best four teams in the division.
The timely intervention of the NFF Executive committee meeting in Asaba failed to find any meaningful solution rather what followed was a detailed communiqué from the NNL Congress in Abuja which clearly points out their position and paved the way for a potential crisis that may drag on for months.
Many may not understand the implication of what their actions or inactions may be leading Nigeria football to, but the strongmen in the NNL, clearly understand the game and are ready to play it to extra time and possibly penalties.
There is more to all of these than meets the eyes. The events of the last few weeks are the consequences of bottled hatred, anger, bitterness and conflict of interests between two league bodies that have never done things in common in the last two years.
At the start of the current football season, the NNL went cap in hands to the LMC, requesting for financial support to conduct their pre season congress and play the first few games of the 2017/2018 season.
Promises were actually made, but were never fulfilled. This was where the problems began.
From that day, till date, the NPFL and NNL have lived like cat and mouse; they have gone about their activities with lots of bitterness and hatred, waiting for that day when they can pour out their bottled anger.
This latest crisis provides a perfect setting for war and has been fully ignited by the resignation of Bukola Olopade, the hardworking and erudite Chief Executive officer of the NNL who resigned earlier this week, setting the ball rolling for what promises to be the mother of all crises.
For a man who single handily brought in sponsorship deals worth over 300m naira to a league that had one leg in the grave after the exit of chief Emeka Inyama in 2016, it is very difficult to question his decision to take a bow when it became obvious that things are no longer done the way they should be done.
Olopade is not one man that can be taken for a ride, he is presently one of, if not, the biggest sports marketer in the country as available statistics shows that the former Ogun State commissioner for sports has generated over 600 million naira from corporate sponsorship of the Assess bank Lagos Marathon, an event that started as child’splay but has suddenly become a mainstay in the Nigeria athletics federation calendar.
The chairman and chiefexecutive officer of Remo Stars FC of Ogun State, Otunba Kunle Soname is another individual who has invested so much in the round leader game and will not allow some persons who make money from the system rubbish a reputation that has taken him years of hard work to build.
The owner of Bet9ja, is presently one of the biggest investor in Nigeria sports especially football. Soname is one of Nigeria’s human capital developer and strong investor in grassroots sports. His company Bet9ja has been the title sponsor of the NNL for close to three years and to imagine that such a man is not taken into consideration by the NPFL before arriving at their decision not to relegate,has left him to carefully rethink his investments and possibly decide what next.
His club is the first of six, to pull out of the proposed NNL Super 8 starting at the Enyimba international stadium Aba, Abia State on the 14th of this month.
Like Remo Stars, Kaduna-based KADA City FC have also decided not to take part in the competition in solidarity with the other four teams who feel seriously bitter that things are not being done properly and must be corrected for peace to reign.
The unfortunate side to this is that it has provided a platform for all aggrieved persons that have scores to settle with the NFF to key into the latest crisis and voice their anger.
From the grapevine, we understand that the Nigeria sports minister Solomon Dalung has expressed his readiness to uncover the true story behind this crisis and see if he could possibly get the chance to finally nail his long time enemies.
Like Dalung, there are others fanning the embers of war. They are the forces behind the stubborn stance from some of these club sides who have now offered themselves as a ready made too of confusion.
The bone of contention here however is that those who genuinely invest their money in the league or those who have gone out of their ways to attract sponsorship for the league now feel they deserve equal rights in the running and administration of the game they have given so much to.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
“Let the music play; Make the voices sing; Start the celebration; Drums may roll out” is part of the lyrics of the famous song, ‘Barcelona’, composed and sung by Freddie Mercury along with Montserrat Caballé. It was originally to be the theme song for Barcelona 92, but for the demise of Mercury months earlier.
The recording of the song was played over a travelogue of Barcelona at the start of the international broadcast of the opening ceremony of the 1992 Summer Olympics.
The lyrics fit appropriately for Kunle Soname, as he turns 59 this Sunday, a day his club, Remo Stars, may emerge Nigerian champion. If that happens, he becomes the first man to be so blessed, as no other club owner has won major laurels on their birthdays.
A win by his club, Remo Stars, not only confer the Nigerian championship to the club, Soname will become the first sole proprietor to win the Nigerian league since that of Oscar Udoji’s Udoji United in 1996.
Still blazing on records, Soname’s club will become the first in Ogun State to win the Nigerian lead league and the first South West champions of Nigeria since 1998 when Shooting Stars won the Nigerian League.
Quiet, self-effacing, Soname is an Ikenne-born businessman who works silently, but efficiently like a brand-new air conditioner.
His ValueJet had been the career of the national team since 2023.
He has made a success in virtually all endeavours, and is well known for his cheerful disposition, humility and generosity.
On Friday, the Nigerian U17-Women’s team clinched a ticket to the World Cup, great thanks to this gentleman who not only quietly motivated the team financially, he hosted their home matches.
Yet he would not voice out the financial gestures, which only came out through secondary sources of the NFF.
Never since the days of Bashorun MKO Abiola has a man been known to run three football clubs.
Abiola had the famous Abiola Babes, Concord FC and also the ITT football club in Lagos.
Soname’s Remo Stars are getting beyond the blue skies. His Beyond Limits Football Academy has become a model that even CAF is quietly studying.
The club has become the launchpad into a professional football career for many Nigerian youngsters who are now flourishing in European and American leagues.
Soname’s third club, the Remo Stars Ladies, has qualified for the Super 6 of the NWFL. That they are still in the President Federation Cup points to the fact of a possible double title this season.
Soname is a game-changer whose support is not limited to football.
Since 2022, his Bet9ja outfit, which is easily the most popular in the gaming business, has been sponsoring the Southeast Bet9ja Foundation Badminton Championship, where close to 100 players have been featured.
Miracle Ufuasia of Enugu State collects her trophy and medal from Obiageli Solaja, the Africa Women in Badminton Award Winner, 2019.
The championship brought up budding badminton players, some of whom later made marks even at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
In an era where private ownership of football clubs is becoming a high-risk venture, Soname raised the bar with his Remo Stars, which has become a model football club in Nigeria.
Equipped with its own all-covered stadium, the club boasts of easily the best turf in Nigeria.
Those marvelling at the current Remo Stars Stadium will be swept off their feet as Soname is not done yet. A bigger arena is in the offing.
When he piloted Remo Stars to the international level, featuring in the 2022/23 CAF Confederation Cup, it was a landmark.
That was the first time in more than 30 years in Nigeria that a one-man-owned football club featured in a continental competition.
His club structure features a football academy, which is the nursery ground for Nigeria’s football stars. The 1998 Africa Footballer of the Year, Victor Ikpeba, was full of awe when he made a tour of the facilities of the academy where players of Beyond Limits are housed at two per room.
“Oh, I wish these were available in my formative years, the sky would have been my limit”, Ikpeba remarked to Sports Village Square.
The father of Super Eagles’ player Ola Aina, Femi Aina, was pleasantly surprised when he visited the Remo Stars facilities last year.
On getting inside, he exclaimed, saying he never imagined such a facility could exist in Nigeria, let alone his own small town of Ikenne.
This is comparable to what I am used to at the Chelsea academy in London, said Mr. Aina, who also remarked that he never knew there could still be another rich man, outside MKO Abiola in Nigeria, who has tremendous passion for football.
Olufemi Aina (c), father of Ola Aina, is thrilled at what Kunle Soname put up in Ikenne.
“I thought it was only the late MKO Abiola that has the capability of putting together a facility of this nature.
“This man, (Soname), earns my maximum respect.”, said Mr. Aina, who at that point had never met the Remo Stars proprietor.
“I am used to sports facilities, having been the one taking Ola to different academies when he was a teenager. “This place reminds me of Chelsea facilities.”
In the block were a gym, clinic, indoor swimming pool, hydrotherapy chamber, boardrooms and a clinic.
The next point of call was the restaurant being used by the pupils at the Beyond Limits Football Academy. The aroma and ambience were breathtaking. On the walls were messages of inspiration to the pupils and footballers.
The matron later informed Mr. Aina of the daily routine of the players and the level of discipline they are exposed to.
He met some of them at the common room where they were playing computer games. Mr. Aina introduced himself and told them of the tremendous privileges the players are enjoying and admonished them to make the best of the opportunity.
The residential buildings at Kunle Soname’s outfit have 56 rooms for junior and senior players, accommodating 112 footballers.
It has five semi-detached blocks of 10 units, two-bedroom coaches’ accommodation, a restaurant for players and officials, as well as an administrative block comprising offices, a conference room, a training classroom and reception.
The block is equipped with a panoramic lift to the first floor, which is the table tennis centre. A twin basketball court has been added as Soname’s facilities will be the epicentre of next month’s National Sports Festival. It will be the first time facilities owned by one man will play a prominent role in the 52-year-old sports fiesta.
Others are the sports centre block of the Remo Stars Stadium facility, comprising a gym, clinic, swimming pool, hydrotherapy chamber and a 30-room hotel with panoramic lift.
Also at the model arena is a tournament pitch with a 10,000-capacity covered pavilion, three training pitches, 2,000 capacity car parks and a good internal road.
Soname is possibly the only Nigerian who runs four clubs. Three are in Nigeria – Remo Stars, Remo Stars Ladies and Beyond Limits. He is also the owner of Portugal’s Clube Desportivo Feirense, which is commonly known as CD Feirense.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA
The Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL) gets to its climax this weekend, especially on Sunday, when the title could be won and one of the other two tickets for the continental competition could be confirmed.
Also, one or two other teams may get their visas to the lower league.
Remo Stars will become the Nigerian champions if they win their home match against Niger Tornadoes in their fortress in Ikenne.
History seems about to repeat itself. It was Niger Tornadoes that Remo Stars beat on 17 July 2022 to get their first ever continental ticket to feature in the following season’s CAF Confederation Cup.
This Sunday, Niger Tornadoes may again be Remo Stars’ launchpad into the league title. What a season it has been for the club that has led the Nigerian league for the longest duration.
They were leaders into Christmas 2024. They were leaders at the end of 2024 and leaders into 2025 as they became the first club to have a double after beating Akwa United home and away.
No team won more away matches than Remo Stars this season. They won five matches away from home. At home, they won 15 of their 17 matches, making Ikenne a fortress. Only Rivers United and Katsina United, who drew their matches, escaped defeat in Ikenne.
With 20 wins, no team has won more matches this season than Remo Stars.
With the title almost decided, and the runners-up awaiting confirmation, the battle zone is the contest for the third place where seven teams are in contest.
The most ferocious of the battle will be that of the surprise team of the season, Ikorodu City and rejuvenated Abia Warriors.
They occupy third and fourth positions respectively. Yet at the onset of the season, those positions looked unlikely. Ikorodu City were the punching bag for the other teams, losing home and away and got their first league point only after five matches.
Today, the continental door is invitingly open to them. What about Abia Warriors, who began the season with a 2-0 home loss to Remo Stars?
They looked like going for their pound of flesh when they suddenly went two goals up against Remo Stars in Ikenne. But Remo Stars fought gamely back to snatch a nervy 3-2 win.
Abia Warriors will be hosting the initial top three runners, Shooting Stars who suddenly slumped in fortunes. But a win by the Ibadan team may reignite their continental aspirations.
Also jostling for a possible top-three finish are the quartet of Bendel Insurance, Kano Pillars, Enugu Rangers and Enyimba.
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The Nigeria U17 women’s team has been given incentives to make it to the Women’s World Cup for the eighth time.
The team, Flamingos, who arrived in Algiers in the early hours of Wednesday aboard a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul, are highly inspired by the imminence of another FIFA World Cup ticket as well as further financial windfall from the Nigeria Football Federation and billionaire business mogul Kunle Soname.
Soname gifted the young players and their officials the sum of N4 million (one million naira for every goal) following their commanding win over the North Africans at the Remo Stars Stadium on Saturday, while the NFF gave out the sum of N2 million (five hundred thousand naira for every goal).
President of NFF, Ibrahim Musa Gusau and Soname have both confirmed that the same financial incentives are in place for the second leg in Blida on Friday.
“Our objective is clear – to win the FIFA World Cup ticket. That is the big motivation.
“Yet, we have been further incentivised by the monetary rewards. My girls will go all out on Friday night,” Head Coach Bankole Olowookere said.
Olowookere, who led the Flamingos to their last two World Cup ventures, will most likely rely on first-leg two-goal heroine Queen Joseph, lone-goal scorer Zainab Raji and Kaosarat Olanrewaju to start at the fore, with Shakirat Moshood, Muinat Rotimi and Philomena Isaiah supplying the passes from the midfield.
Goalkeeper and captain Christiana Uzoma and defenders Azeezat Oduntan, Hannah Ibrahim, Christiana Sunday and Jumai Adebayo are also likely to start.
The Confederation of African Football has selected Cameroonian official Marie Noelle Etong to be the referee, with her compatriots Marcelle Teikeu and Innocentia Ntangti as assistant referee 1 and fourth official, respectively, while Chadian Ngarassoum Victorine will be assistant referee 2.
Oumou Souleymane Kane from Mauritania will be the commissioner, and Sabelo Maphosa-Sibindi from Zimbabwe will be in the role of referee assessor.
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