Bell wrote:
fabio wrote:
Let´s learn to sow and reap and not reap where others have sown.
Pinnick has been in charge of Nigerian Football for 5 years and can´t boost of players coming through the age - ranks!
What about to the age group developmental programmes left by his predecessors?
If the energy, zeal, money and commitment used chase Saka, Abraham and Tomori, now Eze was put into football development. There would be no need to raise a committee to convine Eze!
fabio, PLEASE HANG ON......you're on the right side. As I've said several times before, let me re-state: I applaud and welcome Nigeria-connected players who want to play for the SE and other Nigerian teams. My beef is that,
it should not be done at the expense of meaningful development programs for those born and living in Nigeria. Like the NFF is now doing. It is a crime being perpetrated on the poor Nigerian kids.
Bell
I really do not think there is any dispute on this.
NONE.The issue really is to determine whether it is really the case and if so,
how? 
To reach a meaningful conclusion, let's ask a few basic questions:
1. Is the NPFL suffering neglect BECAUSE the NFF is focusing on foreign based and foreign born Nigerian players? If so, how?- Resources: Are major NFF resources being diverted in pursuit of these FBs? In what way? Foreign travel? Player invitations? Foreign training? Agents fees? Others?
How much of the NFF's resources being spent on these FBs as a proportion of its total budget could reasonably be deemed significant enough to impact so negatively on the NPFL as we are undoubtedly witnessing?
- Commitment: Resources aside, are these FBs drawing the attention of the NFF away from the NPFL to such an extent that interest has been essentially lost, or significantly diminished? Is there anything to support this i.e that the NFF as a body of administrators (rather than just Pinnick himself) is less committed to the local leagues
because of the lure of foreign players? Let's remind ourselves that a keen interest or belief in one thing does not automatically translate to a loss of interest in another.
- Discrimination: Are NPFL players being discriminated against - either actively or passively - by the NFF or any of its national team coaches? For discrimination to be real, it has to be shown that such players are as good or even better than those being given the opportunity. Do we have anything tangible to suggest this is happening?
2. Is the NPFL suffering neglect for OTHER reasons, totally unrelated to FBs?- Finance & Sponsorship: Has he money dried up? If so, to what degree and what is the likely impact? Is this simply a reflection of the wider Nigerian economy?
- Poor Management: An age-old problem and how much of this has contributed to the present predicament, if at all?
- Corruption: A universal issue. It isn't just limited to one aspect of our football. Is there any proven corruption in the NFF? What about at club level which directly impacts on players and by extension the quality of the league? Referees? Governments, state and maybe even federal?
- Talent Sequestration: We've heard how the best young talent is being held back, away from the NPFL for direct sale to foreign agents. Is the NPFL suffering the cumulative effect of this?
-Talent Flight: We all know that a high percentage of our best local talents (regardless of age) are being cherry-picked by foreign agents, actively encouraged by clubs and local coaches obviously for commercial reasons. It's a global trend and it won't stop. How much of this is contributing to the problem.
And are these reasons individually or collectively just as likely or even more likely to be responsible for the poor state of the NPFL than the alleged preoccupation with foreign born and/or based Nigerian players?3. Are OTHER AREAS of Nigerian football (under the NFF) showing similar neglect?- Youth Development: Are our youth programmes suffering too? If so, does this not suggest that there might be more universal and far-reaching reasons for the NPFL decline rather than the NFF focus on FBs?
- Women's football: Same as above
These questions of course are not exhaustive but it is important not to live in an echo chamber and keep recycling truths, half-truths, assumptions and in some cases well-dressed lies. We need to challenge what we believe and what we hear coming from others.
I don't know the answers any more than you do, but I have my beliefs.
Moreover there is too much emotional investment in this topic, understandably so, but it doesn't allow for clarity.
Bottom line is your premise that
the NFF's preoccupation with our foreign born (and foreign based) players is at the expense of our local league and youth development.We all need to examine that premise more closely. Is there a real correlation here? Or a false one?
No fighting please.
Quote:
Someone said you can't name five local players good enough to make the Nigerian squad. If that is true, it proves the point we're trying to make, namely that the authorities have abandoned the local kids.
It doesnt prove it. It is simply a possibility as highlighted in my breakdown above, i.e. it might be multifactorial
Quote:
If you doubt the ability of Nigerian kids in sports, I direct you to go to the "Other Sports" forum and see that five of the first 30 players in the recent NBA worldwide draft have Nigerian blood. The same goes for the NFL. So what's the difference? The Nigerian environment and local authorities, of course.
Absolutely. The question is what lies beneath that truth.
Foreign focus? Or deeper reasons?
Quote:
A poster suggested that those in authority have a short window to deliver results and cannot devote any time to development, a statement that highlights the disregard of long-term planning by some Nigerians. What would the authorities do if these overseas kids were not available or they dry up? Don't the authorities in these foreign countries also have to deliver within a narrow window? In short, what we're seeing is is an abject failure of basic management in Nigerian sports.
Again this is fundamentally true.
My only minor disagreement here is your use of the word 'some'.
Most, if not all Nigerians don't have the time or the 'liver' for long term planning. Nigerians want instant results. It is not even worth arguing.
Nigerians criticise their leaders for the very things they are themselves guilty of. So as football fans, we rightly criticise for "lack of long term planning", "lack of 'vision'', "lack of foresight" etc, but when such plans start to play out before our eyes - with the inevitable bumps, dodgy results and shaky performances of the teething period - we scream for change.
Na so-so
"sack him, sack dem" we go dey hear.
I'm sure Keshi, Siasia and of course Rohr would all agree.
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