By Coach uni Dan Kakwi
Football can be a force for peace, goodwill, and unitization- but it can also shelter some of the worst aspects of society, like corruption, anarchy, and money laundering to mask illegal activities.
Football has always had a political dimension mixed with oppression and sectionalism most especially in the African/ Nigerian settings.
Sometimes, football has also been a means of democratization a tool used to fight racism and prove the equality of the human race…
Didier Drogba immensely struggled to stop a civil war in Ivory coast *Pele is considered to have helped tackle the racist prejudices in Brazilian society.
Generally, this democratic aspect of sports is endangered…
Let’s take for instance the CAF Champions League- consistently clubs from northern regions of Africa can now reach the semi-finals or the finals, due to the immense amounts that they are able to spend on buying and grooming the best players. Technically most players in those leagues are homegrown only a few are foreigners.
Nowadays, where an economic Kabal controls everything from politics to sports they fail to buttress grassroots development thereby unsettling peaceful minds that love the number one sport in the world football.
Where are the FIFA grants meant for female football development in Nigeria…? Imagine how difficult it is to become a female player with high dreams…
Recently, funds were disbursed from FIFA to alleviate and lighten the burden of clubs due to the Covid 19 pandemic but still to date most clubs in the NNL and grassroots setting have not seen a dime or deliveries.
Significantly, when the grassroots system is exposed that encompasses the bulk of the followers and participants the level. playing ground would definitely be chaotic and dysfunctional with no future lines to grow thereby criminal and negative vices sets in…
I think it’s high time our stakeholders start the beginning of the football season from the bottom rather than from the top… including with our female league …
Share your observations …
