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WILL DARE DARE TO BE GREATER THAN SOLOMON?
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The Nigerian sports community is welcoming Sunday Dare as the country’s 35th sports minister since the era of the first occupier of that position, Chief Joseph Modupe Johnson (JMJ) in 1960.
This is the post that the ever-lively Chief Alex Akinyele once described as the Games Master General of the Federation.
But as was the case with most of the 34 helmsmen before him, there is little or nothing to connect him to sports. He will have to learn the principle of sports administration and organisation while on the saddle.
As earlier remarked, he is not alone. In the past, possibly only five or six of the 34 sports ministers/National Sports Commission chairmen have claims to sports background.
Anthony Ikazoboh led the pack as a former player of the then famed Stationery Stores in the 1960s. Others with claims to sports before assumption to offices as either NSC chairman or sports minister were Silvanus Akinwunmi, Jim Nwobodo, Stephen Akiga, Sani Ndanusa and Taoheed Adedoja.
Of the previous 34 helmsmen before Dare, only the late Sampson Emeka Omeruah ever got a second chance. The new sheriff at the sports ministry therefore has to hit the ground running.
He is coming in on the yet to be officially accepted 86th anniversary of the oldest sports federation in the country, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
His coming is also coming during the African Games holding in Morocco. That will undoubtedly be his first attention.
Being a ‘stranger’ in the sports community or just learning the curves may not necessarily be a disadvantage if Dare applies the best principles of administration.
After all, the celebrated American football player and coach, Vince Lombardy in his famous quote: “The Habit of Winning “remarked that ‘running a football team is not different than running an army, a political party or a business.
“The principles are the same”. The object is to win – to beat the other guy. That Dare is a stranger in the sports community may therefore not be a hindrance if he employs Solomonic wisdom. After all, the Biblical Joseph made great impact in a foreign land despite not having been schooled in the principles of administration.
For the records, Dare becomes the 14th sports minister since the advent of the present democratic dispensation 20 years ago.
The import is that the sports ministry is the most unstable and therefore has the highest turnover of ministers. On the average, a minister spends just a little over one year in office before he is shown the exit.
Only Solomon Dalung, the immediate past sports minister served a full term. This is the first lesson Dare has to have at the back of his mind.
Time is too short to begin any experimental exercise. Like most before him, it is very likely he too is planning a visit to the National Stadium in Lagos.
The new minister should just save himself the rituals, which almost all his predecessors had done since 2003 when the previous national edifice of pride went into ruins.
It became a sort of ‘tourist’ attraction to every new sports minister. Dare should just ask for the files and go through all the observations of his predecessors and attempt a revival of our national pride.
That was the arena that had hosted two final matches of Africa’s premier football competitions in 1980 and 2000. That was an arena that hosted the All Africa Games in 1973 and the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship (now tagged U-20 World Cup).
That was an arena that had witnessed more renovation that any other sporting facility in the country having been upgraded for the 1980 African Nations Cup, two botched World Youth Championships in 1991 and 1995 and finally 1999.
It is a great irony that the coming of democratic rules in the country suddenly brought ruins to such a massive edifice that is situated right in the heart of a mega city. Dare should look at the various reports his predecessors had written after pilgrimages to what was dubbed ‘Sport City’ when the arena was very functional in the 1970s and 1980s.
Europe and other parts of the world boast of time-honoured sports arenas that are constantly being upgraded and maintained to meet current demands. Our own National Stadium has turned a haven for hoodlums. The arena and the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan are in need of massive facelift.
A former sports minister, Taoheed Adedoja, once spoke of plans of turning the National Institute of Sports (NIS) hostel to a 130-room four-star sports hotel.
Adedoja, a professor of sports administration, also spoke of plans for the 50-room Games Village in Surulere Lagos and the 55-room hostel complex at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan as well as a similar 40-room facility of the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna attaining the status of three star hotels. The hotels were to be named after outstanding athletes.
All those plans were in the ‘pipelines’ that have since been vandalised. According to Adedoja, each of the hotels was expected to generate half a million-naira daily and would be run by professionals in the hospitality industry.
He reasoned that such venture could provide additional source of revenue for the ministry, which is ever complaining of lean purse.
Whatever happened to that plan enunciated in February 2011, barely three months to end the tenure of the government that appointed him?
The former Liberty Stadium main bowl (now Obafemi Awolowo Stadium) has been a shadow of itself as it had not hosted any major football match since Al Ahly of Egypt beat the Shooting Stars on home soil in the 1999 CAF Champions League.
The minister should consider reviving this premier Nigerian stadium. Possibly, the high turnover of sports ministers is due to their overwhelming interests in football.
Virtually all the preceding 14 sports ministers ended up being football ministers to the neglect of other sports.
Will Dare dare to be different by not being a football minister? Except probably Bolaji Abdulahi who resolved lingering issues in the NFF, football spelt doom for all the other past sports ministers since 1999. This is a big lesson.
Dare should endeavour to build a functional sports data bank for the sport ministry. Anthony Ikazoboh on September 26, 1990 inaugurated a 25-man National Sports Library Committee under the leadership of Dr. Awoture Eleyae.
The objective was to document all aspects of Nigerian sports. Ikazoboh remarked at the time: “sometimes, records available are too old to depend on for modern treatment of sports”.
Continuing, the Air Force man noted: “all along, we have depended on half-truths in some cases to decide on issues for lack of reference points and low academic content of publications on sports”.
Over 30 years since, the committee did not achieve the set goal, possibly because months later, Ikazoboh whose project it was, was transferred from the sports ministry to transport.
If there were a functional documentation process at the sports ministry, it will aid the functions of organisers and other administrators.
Planning process would be aided with such records serving as working documents, even for a new comer into sports administration. A body without history will not be able to know its past and evaluate the present and project its future.
With well-articulated programme, Sunday Dare, as in the book of Matthew 12:42 should be able to proclaim: “A greater than Solomon is here”.
UEFA appears poised for an emergency vote on suspending Israel from European competition next week, with national federations scrambling to position themselves amid mounting political pressure following calls for action.
The brewing crisis intensified this week when United Nations experts called for Israel’s suspension from international football amid the unfolding genocide in occupied Palestinian territory.
A source confirmed that Europe’s soccer body could potentially decide next week to vote on whether to suspend Israel from European competition.
Should UEFA vote to ban Israel, it would put the organisation on a collision course with the government of the United States — co-hosts for the 2026 World Cup — which is vehemently against such a motion.
“We will absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel’s national soccer team from the World Cup,” a spokesperson for the U.S. state department told Sky News.
But even though UEFA has the power to suspend Israel or its clubs from their competitions, it may not be able to stop them from competing in World Cup qualifiers, which fall under the ambit of global soccer body FIFA.
The general secretaries of all UEFA national associations are meeting this week in Marbella, where Israel is not officially on the agenda, but officials expect UEFA to call an emergency vote next week.
FIFA did not respond to a Reuters request for comment while UEFA declined to comment.
Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub said Israelis should not be allowed to participate in any matches, whether they are under UEFA or FIFA.
“Israel has violated the principles, values and FIFA’s statutes. Therefore, I believe that Israel should be sanctioned,” Rajoub told TV2.
“The sanctions should come from UEFA and FIFA.”
WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Israel’s national team are set to face Norway and Italy, the top two teams in their World Cup qualifying group, next month.
“We don’t have any indications that we are facing such an act (UEFA suspension),” a spokesperson for the Israel Football Association told Reuters.
“We are focusing on our international matches against Norway and Italy.”
Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) is one of the member associations that have been the driving force behind calling for a meeting on the Israel situation. The NFF declined to comment.
Lise Klaveness, the president of the NFF and a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, has also been vocal about the crisis in Gaza ahead of her country’s home game against Israel on October 11.
“Neither we nor other organisations can remain indifferent to the humanitarian suffering and disproportionate attacks that the civilian population in Gaza has been subjected to for a long time,” Klaveness said in a statement last month.
“We want to donate the proceeds (from the game) to a humanitarian organisation that saves lives in Gaza every day and provides active emergency aid on the ground.”
The Dutch football federation (KNVB) said it knows nothing about a vote to suspend Israel.
“As soon as the football association receives a message about this, it will take a position,” the KNVB told Dutch outlet NOS.
Last week, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Israel should be banned from international sports competitions. However, officials from the Spanish FA (RFEF) have kept a low profile on the matter.
Israel maintains that its war is not against the population of Gaza but against the Hamas militant group whose fighters led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and precipitated the war.
The subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people, according to local health officials.
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A hat-trick from George Agha and a sublime free-kick goal from David Edeh ensured a comfortable start for five-time world champions Nigeria in the WAFU-B U17 Championship, as the Golden Eaglets routed Baby Cheetahs of Benin Republic 4 -1 in Yamoussoukro on Wednesday.
Agha converted from the spot three minutes into the game after Boluwatife Thompson was hacked inside the box.
Edeh displayed fantastic football artistry to score from a free-kick in the 5th minute of the encounter.
The Eaglets were in cruise control as Agha bagged his brace in the 14th minute. The charges of Manu Garba were very dominant with a three-goal advantage.
Warris Soumanou in goal for Benin Republic was caught napping and his error of judgement gave the Eaglets another goal after a beautiful exchange of passes and dribbles between Thompson and Edeh, which set up Agha for his hat-trick in the 32nd minute.
It was raining goals and it was the turn of the Beninoise in the 45th minute, as a low drive from Jeremy Zannou gave the Baby Cheetahs a consolation goal.
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Mohamed Salah’s dramatic stoppage-time penalty ensured Liverpool maintained their winning start to the Premier League season with a 1-0 victory at promoted side Burnley on Sunday.
With British record signing Alexander Isak forced to wait for his Liverpool debut having been left out the squad for the trip to Lancashire, the champions struggled to break down a dogged home side in the first half.
After a regroup at the break, the visitors upped the ante in the second half, with Dominik Szoboszlai finally forcing a fine save from Martin Dubravka in the Burnley goal.
Burnley were holding on for a well-earned point with ease, before the ball agonisingly struck substitute Hannibal Mejbri’s arm in the penalty area and Salah slotted the spot kick into the net in the 95th minute to break home hearts.
Liverpool are still to really get going this season, requiring a winner in the last 10 minutes of all four of their league victories so far. The goal that clinched an undeserved success at Turf Moor was certainly the most fortunate.
After one of the longest transfer sagas in Premier League history finally reached its expected conclusion, Liverpool supporters were forced to wait two weeks for their first glimpse of their 125-million-pound ($169.45-million) goal machine due to the international break.
While coach Arne Slot said this week that Isak would have to be utilised carefully due to his previous injuries and lack of action so far this season, the Swede was still expected to at least be on the bench at Turf Moor.
The wait goes on as, without their expensive new forward, Liverpool mustered just one shot on target in the first half, from left-back Andrew Robertson.
Burnley, who conceded the fewest goals in English football league history last term to earn them promotion, otherwise frustrated the champions with ease. Even Lesley Ugochukwu’s red card for two bookings in the 84th minute did not seem to fluster them.
Even without Isak, Liverpool still had much attacking talent on the Turf Moor pitch but they just could not find that killer pass.
Salah was especially below par but he made no mistake in the most pressurised moment after Hannibal had stuck up an arm to block Jeremie Frimpong’s cross
The champions’ impressive Premier League goalscoring streak stretches to 38 games nonetheless, their longest such run in the competition.
-Reuters
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