At least husbands will be coming home straight after work, TV anchor staff will stop sleeping in the studio, Boko Haram will maul less number of people, sanity will return to the neighborhood and the fledging village capitalist will dismantle his emergency viewing center and stop collecting N50 per head, the Presidency will also stop publishing fake pictures of GEJ cheering The Super Eagles when they score, all courtesy to the our ouster from the current world cup.
Get this straight up your head. Football exerts a lot of unifying influence amongst fans and ushers a spirit of camaraderie amongst nations even when they are in dire need. But it has been hijacked by a cabal of some crackpots and petty pinheads to occupy people so that they are momentarily steered out of sad realities. I am of the opinion that some governments and FIFA Officials have connived and used football to provide people transient relief from their collective anguish and hardship. It is not that I hate soccer (and what if I hate soccer) but is just that I am missing something here. The fanaticism in soccer is unparalled and I don’t get it.
European League is the biggest fraud and scam of the century with allegations of match fixing rearing up here and there. All we get to hear from FIFA fat cats about this serious allegation is for them to stagger like headless chickens and belch like over fed bulls in a feeding frenzy and promise investigation. FIFA house is the most ambitious global body I have seen where one man called Sepp Blatter is going for a third 7-yr term as if he is indispensable. Apart from Jay Warner, there have been reports dating far back indicating that FIFA officials such as Issa Hayotu and Joao Havelenge participated in corrupt practices. Qatar is in the middle of one unending imbroglio hinging on offering bribes to secure FIFA world cup hosting right come 2020. FIFA fat cats serve no purpose beyond lining their pocket.
Soccer is a multibillion dollar business when it comes to transfer or buying of players, adverts and sponsorship. Yet none of this money is put in good use and there is no accountability. When was the last time FIFA’s account was audited even though they are constantly cooking the books? Some soccer crazy Nigerians are no longer contented with blocking the streets. They now commit suicide and engage in street fights in support of a distant team in England or Spain. What does spoilt brats and extra rich players like Ronaldo, Messi or Wayne Rooney know of the of average pain of a poor Nigerian residing at Ilasamaja or Mushin where they block streets and bludgeon each other when matches are going on in another continent. Or do they know of husbands throwing their wives out of the window from a high-rise building just because the errant poor wife is distracting the big man of the house when matches are going on? Can the collateral damages so inflicted in this case widows and orphans benefit from football?
Whether it was invented in Scotland some 500 years ago or China a couple of centuries ago, it doesn’t matter to me and will not resonate with some of us. I know that people are permitted to practice their vice but I wouldn’t choose watching soccer even as my vice. I would rather watch other games.
Later day Pentecostal Churches and Mosques have clamped down on soccer condemning it as halal and banning their faithful from watching. Some Islamic terror groups have attacked viewers in Uganda and some parts of Nigeria and left a huge wasteland and terror on its wake and yet many of these terrorist groups are fans of English Premier Leagues. Strangely, countries at the verge of disintegration always do well in soccer.
It is my understanding that football consists of Officials, Players and Spectators. The first two derive money from football while the third gets paid nothing. If we have sign-on and transfer fees, what stops football from introducing spectators’ fees. I know how resilient Nigerian workers are; whether they are big time businessmen or roadside artisans. I am still wondering how many people converge to watch for instance a vulcanizer, tailor or a clearing agent when they are eking out their daily wage.
The greatest threat to football is football itself. FIFA is made of officials who believe that they can tile the earth and roof the sky. They have their shoulders to the sky always starring down at others, roaring with laughter as they quaff whiskies and smoke giant cigars in the choicest of clubs. There is one Thierry Henry and another one called Diego Maradona who have mastered the art of scoring with hands. There is yet another cannibalistic one by name Suarez who can shop off a hand with one single bite. Housewives do interfere with soccer administration too. Few years back when Jim Nwobodo was Sports Minister and he called for hiring of foreign technical adviser in place of Shaibu Amodu, the ill-mannered of Shaibu jumped into the fray and called for a foreigner to be appointed as Sports Minister. You may be tempted to believe that I watch soccer due to these comments but the fact is that I eavesdrop from people’s heated conversation in the bars.
So many matches have been marred by poor officiating by equally errant referees. The refusal to introduce goal-line technology is stretching chicanery to a ridiculous dimension. Whereas other sporting competitions are improving, football remain mired in the mud by old school football administrators and executive job seekers. Very soon everyone will see the lie in soccer.
Mike Onwukwe sent in this piece from Great Lakes Region and can be contacted via mikenwukwe@gmail.com