"Oloye, So 75% of the 30 man provisional list are Igbo"

[ANC]

Moderators Lock the thread, Please. I didnt realize that there are so many egg heads on here. People are taking this topic way too serious

[ANC]

Guys, let's not derail this thread with unnecessary facts please. Let's stay focused on the 13%. How can we increase it?

they have derailed my thread, they have taken away the fun with stupid facts.

[felarey]

A lot of new learning in the thread. Like the impact of your mother's ethnic group in determining yours. Good news is sooner or later we will get to that point where we're Nigerians first.

[Gotti]

South Africans are "dusting" us because Nigerians are busy defecting and emigrating (and secondly they also have better facilities)...

Go through the rosters of GB, the US, Canada and even some Scandinavian countries (forget the Gulf states that are just buying athletes) and see how many athletes of Nigerian origin you will find as opposed to South Africans. The likes of Tiffany Porter (nee Ofili), the daughter of CICOB's old school mate in Enugu, Ed Ofili (who was a record-setter for Nigeria), ended up captaining the GB athletics team, while Francis Obikwelu ended up setting European records for Portugal. There will always be outliers (e.g., Namibia with Federick Francis), but the depth and breath of world-class sprinters of Nigerian origin is unmatched in Africa (and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future).

How many are top 5 athletes in their field? Nigeria is overrated in athletics. The gene of speed is prevalent throughout Africa. But beyond that it helps to be lean like the cheetah. Frankie Fredericks was not an accident nor Van Niekerk nor the Botswana sprinter whose name I forget. The southern Africans have lean body frames and long legs while Nigerians tend to be muscular and heavier.

Fredericks Francis was a clear Outlier...
How many other Namibians have even achieved Olympic qualifying times?

It is one thing to constantly produce world-class sprinter and another to have the odd Botswanan or Ato Bolden or Kim Collins or the occasional world-class Chinese or Japanese sprinter (and the latter two nations have massive populations and much better facilities). Nonetheless, while I limited my discussion to the African continent (and specifically to sprinters), Nigerian sprinters have won Olympic sprint relay medals and have qualified for several Olympic sprint finals, which in itself is world-class. And frankly no rational person would argue that Blessing Okagbare’s numerous Diamond League victories are not world-class. As for body-type, as Airwolex has already noted, top Nigerian sprinters come in different body types - sort of like US, Jamaican and British sprinters (coincidentally the best sprinting countries in the world). The likes of Nesta Carter, Yohan Blake, Maurice Greene, Justin Gatlin and Shelley Ann-Fraser are stocky, while the likes of Usain Bolt, Allyson Felix, Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson are lean. Accordingly, as I alluded to in the intro to my initial post, if Nigeria invested in facilities (and training), and our top athletes stop defecting, nobody in Africa would come close in the sprinting department.

[Sir V]

13 igbo
9 South south
4 Yoruba
3 North
not sure bout Lokosa but sounds MIddle belt

NOt 75%.

I guess we can move on now

Only Shehu Abdullahi is a Northerner on that team... If you are counting Ahmed Musa, well he is ethically from the Northern part of Edo state, around Auchi if I'm not mistaken.

Na true you talk. Musa papa is the Otaru of Auchi.

Wow didn’t know this, would have sworn he was Hausa through and through.

My bro, i was just being sarcastic.

[mastermind]

Moderator should delete this thread. This should not be allowed here.

[Prince]

Moderator should delete this thread. This should not be allowed here.

Why?
Rohrkonkwo neglected all the SW ballers anyway let 1naija and Dr Sab have their moment we are busy running the country.

[fabio]

Moderators Lock the thread, Please. I didnt realize that there are so many egg heads on here. People are taking this topic way too serious

Next time, be careful what the kind of thread you start...

[cic old boy]

If we can talk about why there are so many black players in the NBA, why there are so few black coaches in England, why there are so few minorities in boardrooms, why disproportionately more black men are in prisons in the US, then we can discuss ethnicity in our national team. It is a sociological phenomenon and worthy of discussion without any ostrich-like pretense, as long as it is done in a way that is not divisive.

I don't buy all this business of "seeing themselves as Nigerians" not as members of an ethnic group. You can be both. Human beings are multi-dimensional.

Most of our national teams from colonial times have been predominantly Igbo. It has a lot to do with success breeding success, the fact that the playing field is a lot more level than in the civil service for e.g, the fact that there could be more Igbos than our fraudulent censuses have led us to believe, etc.

[mastermind]

Sport should be free of politics, tribalism and racism. Take this tribalism jagon to rant and rave. Players see each other as one, you need unity to win. Super Eagles should inspire us to learn to live together and work together as one without tribalism.

[airwolex]

If we can talk about why there are so many black players in the NBA, why there are so few black coaches in England, why there are so few minorities in boardrooms, why disproportionately more black men are in prisons in the US, then we can discuss ethnicity in our national team. It is a sociological phenomenon and worthy of discussion without any ostrich-like pretense, as long as it is done in a way that is not divisive.

I don't buy all this business of "seeing themselves as Nigerians" not as members of an ethnic group. You can be both. Human beings are multi-dimensional.

Most of our national teams from colonial times have been predominantly Igbo. It has a lot to do with success breeding success, the fact that the playing field is a lot more level than in the civil service for e.g, the fact that there could be more Igbos than our fraudulent censuses have led us to believe, etc.

I guess it all depends on the tone of the discussion. As long as it doesn't degenerate to abuse it's okay.

I for one wanted to open a thread on why a vibrant soccer loving city like Lagos has only one team (which was formed a few years ago) in the National league. Lagos, like London, can quite easily sustain 10 teams so it's odd that it's such a wasteland for Naija soccer. Like I said, the love for soccer is still here as people are crazy about Chelsea, Manu, Barcelona, so what gives?

I've also wanted to discuss the demise Naija athletics for ages...good to see some people are still interested. We need to reclaim our rightful position as sprint dons of Africa. Imagine Botswana having a better 400 meters relay team than Nigeria.

[cic old boy]

South Africans are "dusting" us because Nigerians are busy defecting and emigrating (and secondly they also have better facilities)...

Go through the rosters of GB, the US, Canada and even some Scandinavian countries (forget the Gulf states that are just buying athletes) and see how many athletes of Nigerian origin you will find as opposed to South Africans. The likes of Tiffany Porter (nee Ofili), the daughter of CICOB's old school mate in Enugu, Ed Ofili (who was a record-setter for Nigeria), ended up captaining the GB athletics team, while Francis Obikwelu ended up setting European records for Portugal. There will always be outliers (e.g., Namibia with Federick Francis), but the depth and breath of world-class sprinters of Nigerian origin is unmatched in Africa (and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future).

Nna, Ofili was b/4 my time at CIC. I heard of his exploits from my elder bro.

[Prince]

If we can talk about why there are so many black players in the NBA, why there are so few black coaches in England, why there are so few minorities in boardrooms, why disproportionately more black men are in prisons in the US, then we can discuss ethnicity in our national team. It is a sociological phenomenon and worthy of discussion without any ostrich-like pretense, as long as it is done in a way that is not divisive.

I don't buy all this business of "seeing themselves as Nigerians" not as members of an ethnic group. You can be both. Human beings are multi-dimensional.

Most of our national teams from colonial times have been predominantly Igbo. It has a lot to do with success breeding success, the fact that the playing field is a lot more level than in the civil service for e.g, the fact that there could be more Igbos than our fraudulent censuses have led us to believe, etc.

The reason is mainly due to the fact that the SE have a more organised structure and you are right success breeds more success, as most youth can see a pathway, if you watch Nigerian American Football star soccer story Christian Okoye, you see the guy that scouted him for Athletics who was based in Germany. Not sure the SW have those kind of structures in place.

I dont know why anyone should be angry about the point being raised instead it should motivate them to go back to base and help to galvanize the next generation, what you and guys did in CIC old school is so inspiring, ten years from now we start to say why are their no Doctors from SW, let them go back home and invest.

[airwolex]

If we can talk about why there are so many black players in the NBA, why there are so few black coaches in England, why there are so few minorities in boardrooms, why disproportionately more black men are in prisons in the US, then we can discuss ethnicity in our national team. It is a sociological phenomenon and worthy of discussion without any ostrich-like pretense, as long as it is done in a way that is not divisive.

I don't buy all this business of "seeing themselves as Nigerians" not as members of an ethnic group. You can be both. Human beings are multi-dimensional.

Most of our national teams from colonial times have been predominantly Igbo. It has a lot to do with success breeding success, the fact that the playing field is a lot more level than in the civil service for e.g, the fact that there could be more Igbos than our fraudulent censuses have led us to believe, etc.

The reason is mainly due to the fact that the SE have a more organised structure and you are right success breeds more success, as most youth can see a pathway, if you watch Nigerian American Football star soccer story, you see the guy that scouted him for Athletics who was based in Germany. Not sure the SW have those kind of structures in place.

I dont know why anyone should be angry about the point being raised instead it should motivate them to go back to base and help to galvanize the next generation, what you and guys did in CIC old school is so inspiring, ten years from now we start to say why are their no Doctors from SW, let them go back home and invest.

Princess, shebi you were encouraging Libya migration last week. You are part of SW problem.

[Prince]

If we can talk about why there are so many black players in the NBA, why there are so few black coaches in England, why there are so few minorities in boardrooms, why disproportionately more black men are in prisons in the US, then we can discuss ethnicity in our national team. It is a sociological phenomenon and worthy of discussion without any ostrich-like pretense, as long as it is done in a way that is not divisive.

I don't buy all this business of "seeing themselves as Nigerians" not as members of an ethnic group. You can be both. Human beings are multi-dimensional.

Most of our national teams from colonial times have been predominantly Igbo. It has a lot to do with success breeding success, the fact that the playing field is a lot more level than in the civil service for e.g, the fact that there could be more Igbos than our fraudulent censuses have led us to believe, etc.

The reason is mainly due to the fact that the SE have a more organised structure and you are right success breeds more success, as most youth can see a pathway, if you watch Nigerian American Football star soccer story, you see the guy that scouted him for Athletics who was based in Germany. Not sure the SW have those kind of structures in place.

I dont know why anyone should be angry about the point being raised instead it should motivate them to go back to base and help to galvanize the next generation, what you and guys did in CIC old school is so inspiring, ten years from now we start to say why are their no Doctors from SW, let them go back home and invest.

Princess, shebi you were encouraging Libya migration last week. You are part of SW problem.

Am seating on my high horse and advicing you guys, not even a player from your state of the 3% SW in the team If na Owanbe we go see una

[airwolex]

If we can talk about why there are so many black players in the NBA, why there are so few black coaches in England, why there are so few minorities in boardrooms, why disproportionately more black men are in prisons in the US, then we can discuss ethnicity in our national team. It is a sociological phenomenon and worthy of discussion without any ostrich-like pretense, as long as it is done in a way that is not divisive.

I don't buy all this business of "seeing themselves as Nigerians" not as members of an ethnic group. You can be both. Human beings are multi-dimensional.

Most of our national teams from colonial times have been predominantly Igbo. It has a lot to do with success breeding success, the fact that the playing field is a lot more level than in the civil service for e.g, the fact that there could be more Igbos than our fraudulent censuses have led us to believe, etc.

The reason is mainly due to the fact that the SE have a more organised structure and you are right success breeds more success, as most youth can see a pathway, if you watch Nigerian American Football star soccer story, you see the guy that scouted him for Athletics who was based in Germany. Not sure the SW have those kind of structures in place.

I dont know why anyone should be angry about the point being raised instead it should motivate them to go back to base and help to galvanize the next generation, what you and guys did in CIC old school is so inspiring, ten years from now we start to say why are their no Doctors from SW, let them go back home and invest.

Princess, shebi you were encouraging Libya migration last week. You are part of SW problem.

Am seating on my high horse and advicing you guys, not even a player from your state of the 3% SW in the team If na Owanbe we go see una

If not for Davido what will you be listening too? We don't like to get dirty when we make our own money.

[Prince]

If we can talk about why there are so many black players in the NBA, why there are so few black coaches in England, why there are so few minorities in boardrooms, why disproportionately more black men are in prisons in the US, then we can discuss ethnicity in our national team. It is a sociological phenomenon and worthy of discussion without any ostrich-like pretense, as long as it is done in a way that is not divisive.

I don't buy all this business of "seeing themselves as Nigerians" not as members of an ethnic group. You can be both. Human beings are multi-dimensional.

Most of our national teams from colonial times have been predominantly Igbo. It has a lot to do with success breeding success, the fact that the playing field is a lot more level than in the civil service for e.g, the fact that there could be more Igbos than our fraudulent censuses have led us to believe, etc.

The reason is mainly due to the fact that the SE have a more organised structure and you are right success breeds more success, as most youth can see a pathway, if you watch Nigerian American Football star soccer story, you see the guy that scouted him for Athletics who was based in Germany. Not sure the SW have those kind of structures in place.

I dont know why anyone should be angry about the point being raised instead it should motivate them to go back to base and help to galvanize the next generation, what you and guys did in CIC old school is so inspiring, ten years from now we start to say why are their no Doctors from SW, let them go back home and invest.

Princess, shebi you were encouraging Libya migration last week. You are part of SW problem.

Am seating on my high horse and advicing you guys, not even a player from your state of the 3% SW in the team If na Owanbe we go see una

If not for Davido what will you be listening too? We don't like to get dirty when we make our own money.

Chei billions on sport budget no medal for commonwealth

[cic old boy]

The reason is mainly due to the fact that the SE have a more organised structure and you are right success breeds more success, as most youth can see a pathway, if you watch Nigerian American Football star soccer story Christian Okoye, you see the guy that scouted him for Athletics who was based in Germany. Not sure the SW have those kind of structures in place.

I dont know why anyone should be angry about the point being raised instead it should motivate them to go back to base and help to galvanize the next generation, what you and guys did in CIC old school is so inspiring, ten years from now we start to say why are their no Doctors from SW, let them go back home and invest.

I think the structure is as disorganised in the southeast as any other part of Nigeria. Also don't forget that a lot of the Igbos that made it to the national team grew up in other parts of Nigeria. We should also be looking at why Ajegunle produces a lot national team players.

[Damunk]

If we can talk about why there are so many black players in the NBA, why there are so few black coaches in England, why there are so few minorities in boardrooms, why disproportionately more black men are in prisons in the US, then we can discuss ethnicity in our national team. It is a sociological phenomenon and worthy of discussion without any ostrich-like pretense, as long as it is done in a way that is not divisive.

I don't buy all this business of "seeing themselves as Nigerians" not as members of an ethnic group. You can be both. Human beings are multi-dimensional.

Most of our national teams from colonial times have been predominantly Igbo. It has a lot to do with success breeding success, the fact that the playing field is a lot more level than in the civil service for e.g, the fact that there could be more Igbos than our fraudulent censuses have led us to believe, etc.

The reason is mainly due to the fact that the SE have a more organised structure and you are right success breeds more success, as most youth can see a pathway, if you watch Nigerian American Football star soccer story Christian Okoye, you see the guy that scouted him for Athletics who was based in Germany. Not sure the SW have those kind of structures in place.

I dont know why anyone should be angry about the point being raised instead it should motivate them to go back to base and help to galvanize the next generation, what you and guys did in CIC old school is so inspiring, ten years from now we start to say why are their no Doctors from SW, let them go back home and invest.

I am 'angry' because the guy is being frivolous and as far as I can tell had no intention of having a meaningful discussion. It was more of ethnic baiting.
Moreover, who wants to have such a discussion a few weeks to the biggest sporting event on the planet of which we are part?

The topic in itself is not taboo. It simply takes a little bit of maturity.
After all, I started a discussion here some years ago on a similar topic in which I asked what was behind the phenomenal sporting success of the old Bendel State.
I suggested we should look into what I termed 'Bendelism' as a means to sporting success nationwide.

[kali]

South Africans are "dusting" us because Nigerians are busy defecting and emigrating (and secondly they also have better facilities)...

Go through the rosters of GB, the US, Canada and even some Scandinavian countries (forget the Gulf states that are just buying athletes) and see how many athletes of Nigerian origin you will find as opposed to South Africans. The likes of Tiffany Porter (nee Ofili), the daughter of CICOB's old school mate in Enugu, Ed Ofili (who was a record-setter for Nigeria), ended up captaining the GB athletics team, while Francis Obikwelu ended up setting European records for Portugal. There will always be outliers (e.g., Namibia with Federick Francis), but the depth and breath of world-class sprinters of Nigerian origin is unmatched in Africa (and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future).

How many are top 5 athletes in their field? Nigeria is overrated in athletics. The gene of speed is prevalent throughout Africa. But beyond that it helps to be lean like the cheetah. Frankie Fredericks was not an accident nor Van Niekerk nor the Botswana sprinter whose name I forget. The southern Africans have lean body frames and long legs while Nigerians tend to be muscular and heavier.

Fredericks Francis was a clear Outlier...
How many other Namibians have even achieved Olympic qualifying times?

It is one thing to constantly produce world-class sprinter and another to have the odd Botswanan or Ato Bolden or Kim Collins or the occasional world-class Chinese or Japanese sprinter (and the latter two nations have massive populations and much better facilities). Nonetheless, while I limited my discussion to the African continent (and specifically to sprinters), Nigerian sprinters have won Olympic sprint relay medals and have qualified for several Olympic sprint finals, which in itself is world-class. And frankly no rational person would argue that Blessing Okagbare’s numerous Diamond League victories are not world-class. As for body-type, as Airwolex has already noted, top Nigerian sprinters come in different body types - sort of like US, Jamaican and British sprinters (coincidentally the best sprinting countries in the world). The likes of Nesta Carter, Yohan Blake, Maurice Greene, Justin Gatlin and Shelley Ann-Fraser are stocky, while the likes of Usain Bolt, Allyson Felix, Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson are lean. Accordingly, as I alluded to in the intro to my initial post, if Nigeria invested in facilities (and training), and our top athletes stop defecting, nobody in Africa would come close in the sprinting department.

Nigerian athletes have never medaled in the 100,200,400 meters Olympics individual events. Relay doesn't count after all Bahamas has at one point or another had great relay teams. So no Nigeria is not world class. It has yet to produce a top 3 sprinter in any of those events.

Meanwhile Jamaica, USA, GB consistently produce top sprinters in these events.

Again Nigeria is overrated. We don't like the truth because it hurts.

[ikemba]

South Africans are "dusting" us because Nigerians are busy defecting and emigrating (and secondly they also have better facilities)...

Go through the rosters of GB, the US, Canada and even some Scandinavian countries (forget the Gulf states that are just buying athletes) and see how many athletes of Nigerian origin you will find as opposed to South Africans. The likes of Tiffany Porter (nee Ofili), the daughter of CICOB's old school mate in Enugu, Ed Ofili (who was a record-setter for Nigeria), ended up captaining the GB athletics team, while Francis Obikwelu ended up setting European records for Portugal. There will always be outliers (e.g., Namibia with Federick Francis), but the depth and breath of world-class sprinters of Nigerian origin is unmatched in Africa (and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future).

How many are top 5 athletes in their field? Nigeria is overrated in athletics. The gene of speed is prevalent throughout Africa. But beyond that it helps to be lean like the cheetah. Frankie Fredericks was not an accident nor Van Niekerk nor the Botswana sprinter whose name I forget. The southern Africans have lean body frames and long legs while Nigerians tend to be muscular and heavier.

Fredericks Francis was a clear Outlier...
How many other Namibians have even achieved Olympic qualifying times?

It is one thing to constantly produce world-class sprinter and another to have the odd Botswanan or Ato Bolden or Kim Collins or the occasional world-class Chinese or Japanese sprinter (and the latter two nations have massive populations and much better facilities). Nonetheless, while I limited my discussion to the African continent (and specifically to sprinters), Nigerian sprinters have won Olympic sprint relay medals and have qualified for several Olympic sprint finals, which in itself is world-class. And frankly no rational person would argue that Blessing Okagbare’s numerous Diamond League victories are not world-class. As for body-type, as Airwolex has already noted, top Nigerian sprinters come in different body types - sort of like US, Jamaican and British sprinters (coincidentally the best sprinting countries in the world). The likes of Nesta Carter, Yohan Blake, Maurice Greene, Justin Gatlin and Shelley Ann-Fraser are stocky, while the likes of Usain Bolt, Allyson Felix, Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson are lean. Accordingly, as I alluded to in the intro to my initial post, if Nigeria invested in facilities (and training), and our top athletes stop defecting, nobody in Africa would come close in the sprinting department.

Nigerian athletes have never medaled in the 100,200,400 meters Olympics individual events. Relay doesn't count after all Bahamas has at one point or another had great relay teams. So no Nigeria is not world class. It has yet to produce a top 3 sprinter in any of those events.

Meanwhile Jamaica, USA, GB consistently produce top sprinters in these events.

Again Nigeria is overrated. We don't like the truth because it hurts.

Yes we have!
Atlanta 1996, Mary Onyali won Bronze medal in the women 200m, and Falilat Ogunkoya won Bronze in the 400m race.
Sydney 2000, Gloria Alozie won Silver medal in the women 100m hurdles race

[Chief Ogbunigwe]

13 igbo
9 South south
4 Yoruba
3 North
not sure bout Lokosa but sounds MIddle belt

NOt 75%.

I guess we can move on now

Only Shehu Abdullahi is a Northerner on that team... If you are counting Ahmed Musa, well he is ethically from the Northern part of Edo state, around Auchi if I'm not mistaken.

Na true you talk. Musa papa is the Otaru of Auchi.

Wow didn’t know this, would have sworn he was Hausa through and through.

My bro, i was just being sarcastic.

Ha, Oga Sir V....are you taking away the Myca's temporary protection from yabbis? e no good o.

[1naija]

Moderator should delete this thread. This should not be allowed here.

Why?
Rohrkonkwo neglected all the SW ballers anyway let 1naija and Dr Sab have their moment we are busy running the country.

That's the problem! Amaechi and Buhari are running the country, you are NOT!. You must contribute something!