NFF's GREEN Part Of The Problem Retarding Nigerian Football

The head of Technical Committee of Nigeria Football Federation Chris Green has come under heavy criticism by National Association of Sports Administrators (NASA) over the comment credited to him in national newspapers last week.    

The national Coordinator of NASA Chief Nathaniel Owoade in a chat with the sporting press in Ibadan said it is disheartening to read a story credited to Chris Green on the pages of newspapers last Saturday about his threat to Stephen Keshi and Super Eagles Players.

Chief Owoade claimed this singular act had showed his level of intellectuality and competency at this crucial stage when all hands should be on deck to get our nation qualify for the Nations Cup which we missed in a similar manner last year.

“Is it threatening Eagles with sack the appropriate statement that should be coming from the desk of Chairman Technical of NFF at this stage” he queried maintaining that “Is it Keshi or players that are our problem now?

His words: “We think the first problem confronting our football presently is Green that he’s occupying a seat meant for someone who in the past had managed and administered football either at the very top level of club stage in nation's League system for many years with full technical qualification and high level of exposure and experience.

“We have written to the Presidency concerning this that until we put an end to hiring or appointing unqualified and inexperienced people to hold key positions in sports it will be difficult for us to catch up with the rest of the world.

“In fact, Chairman Technical Committee needs not to be a friend, family or yes man to the President of NFF but someone that understands the terrain and processes a proven record. I mean somebody who has impeccable records and has the required experience to move the nation's football forward from its current disappointing stage.

“It is bad at this stage to hear any executive member of our nation’s football authority threaten the head Coach or any player or sounding like vuvuzela that brings nothing to the players and technical team except just crazy unorganized noise.

“What the stakeholders are expecting now is full cooperation from all and sundry, encouragement, technical and moral support to get the team qualify. In a country where things are done properly, Green ought to have put pen to paper and honourably quit for quite a numbers of failures recorded during his tenure as chairman technical head of NFF.

“For our football to move forward, Maigari the NFF boss should humble himself and apologize to his predecessors like Alhaji Sanni Lulu and his lieutenants as well as Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima and seek for proper assistance, he should stop depending on somebody without in-depth knowledge of the game.

“Now that President Jonathan is calling for restructuring and reorganization of all sports, I want to appeal to us all to come out and guide the nation on the way forward without bias and expectation of settlement of any kind. If we can hold our head, sure, we shall get what belongs to us and move the nation forward. This include sports writers, Journalists should not allow interest to overshadow professionalism because they are the eyes and ears of the masses”, Owoade who retired from Oyo State Sports council noted.

Akanbi Agiri