As the search heats up for lasting solutions to the recent long line of setbacks facing Nigerian football, a marketing expert in the sports sector, Nkechi Obi has called for a vibrant ecosystem based on infrastructure development at the grassroots.
Obi made the suggestion while speaking during ‘Hot Seat’ segment of Sports247’s television programme, Inside Naija Sports, which airs every Saturday at 10am on NTA News 24 and streams continuously on YouTube.
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She cited the example of Morocco, which has hosted several international events due to its massive development of infrastructure, and reckoned that Nigeria can follow suit with even greater achievements.
The highly eloquent marketing guru pointed out that Nigeria’s female national team, Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup is a shocking continuation of setbacks that have hit the Super Eagles, Olympic Eagles, Flying Eagjers and Golden Eaglets in quick succession.
With all those failures still fresh in mind, Obi suggested a look at African countries that faced similar challenges in the past but have overcome them and are now excelling domestically, continentally and globally.
“Let us look within our continent and emulate those countries that have addressed their issues,” said Obi, who is a former chairperson of Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL).
“Morocco is a good example in that regard. They have, in our lifetime, done what we ought to have done many years ago. They’ve built a vibrant ecosystem for their country through sports, not just football.
“They have the kind of back-end that some of us have been talking about in Nigeria for the past 10 years. Personally, I started chasing reforms in 2010 after we failed to progress to the second round of the World Cup.”
Obi recalled further that she started making a call for reforms in Nigeria’s football sector after the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, following which she stepped up her agitations based on the team’s group exit at South Africa 2010, but noted that necessary changes have not been effected in the system since those years of failure.
Obi recounted, “Some of us have been pushing for reforms much earlier, but it was in 2016 that it became really serious. I started telling my colleagues in 2006 that, in ten years’ time, there would be no more money to be made in football.
“Those of us who do nothing but sports will not find it easy to get money from it, because our country has not built the right ecosystem that we can thrive in and operate with.
“So, we have to build the right ecosystem that ensures the nation can convert its talents into finished products seamlessly. The foundation for this is in providing enough infrastructure that ensures anybody with interest in sports can participate at the grassroots.”
Sports247 reports further that the very articulate sports administrator and businesswoman further opined that Nigeria should shift its emphasis away from hunting for talents into mass participation by anyone with interest at the grassroots.
