So, I decided to got to the Stadium to watch a Nigerian Football League game on Wednesday, January 11, 2023.
It would be my first time at a Stadium in the new year and my 1088th time since I started in 1989. Rivers Angels would be playing against Delta Queens at the University of Port Harcourt Stadium and my sons told me they would love to go with me.
But two of them had fallen asleep in the car not long after we left home so I had to turn around back to the house to drop them off. I finally arrived at the stadium as the second half started and I immediately saw every thing wrong with Nigerian football in that game. Yes, I was barely five minutes in, and I saw everything, or almost everything wrong with Nigerian football.
Dull, boring, bland atmosphere
The first thing I noticed was the dull pitch. The grass was brown and it was painful to the eyes. The least cared about thing for a Nigerian football club has to be the state of the pitch. The next at the bottom of the food chain is media office. There are more important things to club administrators, like the three points, so why bother about the pitch, or pushing out information about your club?
There could not have been more than a hundred and fifty people in the stadium. This may not be seen as anything to be loud about since, it was just the women playing, right? But this game was played inside the University of Port Harcourt with the school in full session. If someone at the club had done their due diligence, there would have been a mad crowd of university students watching that game and cheering either of the teams, but again, some things are more important than the fans turning up.
Then, the football played out by the home side, Rivers Angels was nauseating. The players were hardly aware of themselves on the pitch, passing was poor, positioning was terrible, transition was horrible, shooting was a disgrace, but that was a football team that wanted to win a game? A football team that had coaches and actually went through training drills for days before the game? Delta Queens, on the other hand were clearly the better side and they played what was more like football and I wondered if the Rivers Angels players got any coaching at all.
I also heard that the away side, Delta Queens scored twice in the first half but both were ruled out. The terraces were terrible as the few fans at the stadium had to sit on the hard concrete. Football should be enjoyed and not endured.
Now, two thirds of the clubs in the top tier of men's league in Nigeria will have similar setting in their home games- poor, under-coached teams, poor and dull playing pitches, few fans in the stadium, little or no fan experience, poor entertainment value and all. And most of all, going to the stadium in Nigeria always seems like an extreme sport. Fans have to sit under the sun, in uncomfortable seats, no pre- game entertainment, all to watch a boring football match.
And this is not a problem we can blame the league organisers for, is it? The Interim Management Committee, IMC will not paint your stadium, will they? They will not ask you to publicise your games, will they? They will also not beg you to pay visits to the community around your home ground to encourage them to come watch your games, will they? They also will not build befitting stadia for you, or pay entertainers to make your fan experience worth its while.
For the umpteenth time I say this- the job of organising the league is in the hands of the IMC or LMC as it was previously, while the job of actually running the football club is in the hands of the clubs themselves. The Club Owners group, what do they actually discuss in their meetings? How do they even sleep at night, knowing the mess they give to Nigerians every week they play league football?
A tale of nets
Well, the Nigeria Premier Football League eventually kicked off with a game on Sunday, January 8, 2023 in Uyo between Akwa United (the home side) and Bendel Insurance who had just returned to the league from the lower division NNL.
Now, Akwa United is one of the better run clubs. At least they have an impressive and colourful stadium and the grass is actually green too. Their media department works well and they have a website that actually gives out useful information about the club too. But in all of these Akwa United lost at home, 2-0 to a newly promoted side.
This shows that you can get everything right in terms of running your club and still lose games, but this is not even the point.
The first goal, at first view had the ball just fly past and the referee said it was a goal. It also seemed offside too. But, how did a ball that just flew past, and into the stands be declared as a goal?
At second view, I saw the net being inspected, so, maybe, it passed through a hole in the net. But apart from the net thing, it looked offside in the build up, yet something else was curious to me. Players of the home team neither protested the off side goal nor the fact that it may not have been a goal at all. So, maybe, the players on the pitch knew more than we did and were sure it was a goal both ways, or it could be that Bendel people brought juju to cover the eyes of every body in the stadium. E be like na the juju side I wan believe pass.
But how come we are still having this net issue in the Nigeria Premier Football League. Shouldn't we have moved past it?
So, I did some checks, and spoke to a FIFA licensed referee, Ferdinand Udoh and I found out that nets are not even mandatory in football. You can actually play a league or World Cup game without nets. They are only there for convinience and maybe to add colour, not not a must.
So, according to Law 1 of Football, Field of Play, Article 10 on GOAL POSTS is as follows
10. Goals
A goal must be placed on the centre of each goal line.
A goal consists of two vertical posts equidistant from the corner flagposts and joined at the top by a horizontal crossbar. The goalposts and crossbar must be made of approved material and must not be dangerous. The goalposts and crossbar of both goals must be the same shape, which must be square, rectangular, round, elliptical or a hybrid of these options.
It is recommended that all goals used in an official competition organised under the auspices of FIFA or confederations meet the requirements of the FIFA Quality Programme for Football Goals.
The distance between the inside of the posts is 7.32m (8yds) and the distance from the lower edge of the crossbar to the ground is 2.44m (8ft).
The position of the goalposts in relation to the goal line must be in accordance with the graphics.
The goalposts and the crossbar must be white and have the same width and depth, which must not exceed 12cm (5ins).
If the crossbar becomes displaced or broken, play is stopped until it has been repaired or replaced in position. Play is restarted with a dropped ball. If it can not be repaired the match must be abandoned. A rope or any flexible or dangerous material may not replace the crossbar.
Nets may be attached to the goals and the ground behind the goal; they must be properly supported and must not interfere with the goalkeeper.
Note that FIFA does not say you must have nets between the posts, they say, “Nets may be attached” so it is really optional.
Na wetin dey cause fight for 'choosing' in those days o.
However, if you decide to use nets for League games, ensure that they are properly inspected to avoid controversies. Thank God, the one for Uyo no cause fight.
The Nigerian League just began and there will be lots of talking points, but next week, we talk Europe. E be like Arsenal wan like play like play win EPL o.
It would be my first time at a Stadium in the new year and my 1088th time since I started in 1989. Rivers Angels would be playing against Delta Queens at the University of Port Harcourt Stadium and my sons told me they would love to go with me.
But two of them had fallen asleep in the car not long after we left home so I had to turn around back to the house to drop them off. I finally arrived at the stadium as the second half started and I immediately saw every thing wrong with Nigerian football in that game. Yes, I was barely five minutes in, and I saw everything, or almost everything wrong with Nigerian football.
Dull, boring, bland atmosphere
The first thing I noticed was the dull pitch. The grass was brown and it was painful to the eyes. The least cared about thing for a Nigerian football club has to be the state of the pitch. The next at the bottom of the food chain is media office. There are more important things to club administrators, like the three points, so why bother about the pitch, or pushing out information about your club?
There could not have been more than a hundred and fifty people in the stadium. This may not be seen as anything to be loud about since, it was just the women playing, right? But this game was played inside the University of Port Harcourt with the school in full session. If someone at the club had done their due diligence, there would have been a mad crowd of university students watching that game and cheering either of the teams, but again, some things are more important than the fans turning up.
Then, the football played out by the home side, Rivers Angels was nauseating. The players were hardly aware of themselves on the pitch, passing was poor, positioning was terrible, transition was horrible, shooting was a disgrace, but that was a football team that wanted to win a game? A football team that had coaches and actually went through training drills for days before the game? Delta Queens, on the other hand were clearly the better side and they played what was more like football and I wondered if the Rivers Angels players got any coaching at all.
I also heard that the away side, Delta Queens scored twice in the first half but both were ruled out. The terraces were terrible as the few fans at the stadium had to sit on the hard concrete. Football should be enjoyed and not endured.
Now, two thirds of the clubs in the top tier of men's league in Nigeria will have similar setting in their home games- poor, under-coached teams, poor and dull playing pitches, few fans in the stadium, little or no fan experience, poor entertainment value and all. And most of all, going to the stadium in Nigeria always seems like an extreme sport. Fans have to sit under the sun, in uncomfortable seats, no pre- game entertainment, all to watch a boring football match.
And this is not a problem we can blame the league organisers for, is it? The Interim Management Committee, IMC will not paint your stadium, will they? They will not ask you to publicise your games, will they? They will also not beg you to pay visits to the community around your home ground to encourage them to come watch your games, will they? They also will not build befitting stadia for you, or pay entertainers to make your fan experience worth its while.
For the umpteenth time I say this- the job of organising the league is in the hands of the IMC or LMC as it was previously, while the job of actually running the football club is in the hands of the clubs themselves. The Club Owners group, what do they actually discuss in their meetings? How do they even sleep at night, knowing the mess they give to Nigerians every week they play league football?
A tale of nets
Well, the Nigeria Premier Football League eventually kicked off with a game on Sunday, January 8, 2023 in Uyo between Akwa United (the home side) and Bendel Insurance who had just returned to the league from the lower division NNL.
Now, Akwa United is one of the better run clubs. At least they have an impressive and colourful stadium and the grass is actually green too. Their media department works well and they have a website that actually gives out useful information about the club too. But in all of these Akwa United lost at home, 2-0 to a newly promoted side.
This shows that you can get everything right in terms of running your club and still lose games, but this is not even the point.
The first goal, at first view had the ball just fly past and the referee said it was a goal. It also seemed offside too. But, how did a ball that just flew past, and into the stands be declared as a goal?
At second view, I saw the net being inspected, so, maybe, it passed through a hole in the net. But apart from the net thing, it looked offside in the build up, yet something else was curious to me. Players of the home team neither protested the off side goal nor the fact that it may not have been a goal at all. So, maybe, the players on the pitch knew more than we did and were sure it was a goal both ways, or it could be that Bendel people brought juju to cover the eyes of every body in the stadium. E be like na the juju side I wan believe pass.
But how come we are still having this net issue in the Nigeria Premier Football League. Shouldn't we have moved past it?
So, I did some checks, and spoke to a FIFA licensed referee, Ferdinand Udoh and I found out that nets are not even mandatory in football. You can actually play a league or World Cup game without nets. They are only there for convinience and maybe to add colour, not not a must.
So, according to Law 1 of Football, Field of Play, Article 10 on GOAL POSTS is as follows
10. Goals
A goal must be placed on the centre of each goal line.
A goal consists of two vertical posts equidistant from the corner flagposts and joined at the top by a horizontal crossbar. The goalposts and crossbar must be made of approved material and must not be dangerous. The goalposts and crossbar of both goals must be the same shape, which must be square, rectangular, round, elliptical or a hybrid of these options.
It is recommended that all goals used in an official competition organised under the auspices of FIFA or confederations meet the requirements of the FIFA Quality Programme for Football Goals.
The distance between the inside of the posts is 7.32m (8yds) and the distance from the lower edge of the crossbar to the ground is 2.44m (8ft).
The position of the goalposts in relation to the goal line must be in accordance with the graphics.
The goalposts and the crossbar must be white and have the same width and depth, which must not exceed 12cm (5ins).
If the crossbar becomes displaced or broken, play is stopped until it has been repaired or replaced in position. Play is restarted with a dropped ball. If it can not be repaired the match must be abandoned. A rope or any flexible or dangerous material may not replace the crossbar.
Nets may be attached to the goals and the ground behind the goal; they must be properly supported and must not interfere with the goalkeeper.
Note that FIFA does not say you must have nets between the posts, they say, “Nets may be attached” so it is really optional.
Na wetin dey cause fight for 'choosing' in those days o.
However, if you decide to use nets for League games, ensure that they are properly inspected to avoid controversies. Thank God, the one for Uyo no cause fight.
The Nigerian League just began and there will be lots of talking points, but next week, we talk Europe. E be like Arsenal wan like play like play win EPL o.
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