And the age cheats crashed
By Ikenna Emewu [ikenna@sunnewsonline.com]
Saturday, November 21, 2009

Yes, I don’t hide the fact that I was happy last Sunday night when Nigeria crashed and lost against Switzerland in the final match of the U-17 FIFA World Cup dubbed Nigeria 2009. I was happy because I am a patriotic Nigerian and a lover of the game who also wants the future of Nigeria in the game that has become the most influential art of modern times to be strong and virile.

Since 1985 when we won the first ever U-17 or U-16 World Cup, we have repeated the feat thrice. But why do the benefits of the tournament continue to elude us as ex-world champions. Our feat in this tournament would ordinarily have translated to a glorious height for the nation to have won the senior World Cup or have come very close to winning it if we started with sincerity. Unfortunately, the reverse is our lot. Nigeria remains at the nadir of her dreams of clinching world fame in football.

Yet, we have not learnt any lesson to start now to do it right. We have seen the side of age cheating, winning the trophy as many times as possible and also featuring very prominently in the U-20 World Cup, but where do our stars of this age grade levels go after their outstanding performances – they retire into old age and soccer senility. The reason is because they came in at quarter-to-go level, outshone the younger boys matched against them and die young while those they beat remain, grow, shine for ages and bring greater glory. It is an irony because FIFA set up this teen tournament as grooming ground for future football superstars.

We have in the past deceived ourselves with the immediate-gain syndrome. Our policy on age group FIFA competitions is win-today-and-die-tomorrow. At last, all these take us nowhere.

That is why it never made sense to me that some people who claim to love Nigeria and are patriots heaped blames on Adokiye Amasimeka, former Green Eagles ace and former Sharks of Port Harcourt chairman for telling the truth about the age cheats that filled our squad. I felt a rumble and churning in my tummy whenever I saw John Obuh’s face on the TV during the matches urging these cheats on to hack down little boys, too young to be their children and win us an inglorious trophy while our tomorrow remains a soccer vacuum and gloom. So, why was I happy we lost - so that we would learn our lessons next time and do it right like others.

Nobody needs to be told that football today is big business. In fact, it is one of the most lucrative legal ventures in the whole world now. Any nation that gets a firm grip of football gets a firm grip of a good portion of the world wealth, development, fame and honour. That is why most of the star footballers have remained UN ambassadors of hope including our own Kanu Nwankwo and Austin Okocha. Just last week, Didier Drogba, the Cote D’Ivoire international and Chelsea striker raised three million pounds sterlings from other world stars to build a hospital in his country. Daily Mail of London dubbed it a most elaborate act of charity from footballing. Drogba was aptly christened ‘Saint Drogba’ by the paper. Even our Nigerian brothers in the game repatriate millions of dollars and other currencies to this nation every year and have invested same in so many ways that have enriched the nation. You already know that Kanu Nwankwo’s Heart Foundation has saved over 500 victims of heart diseases from death all from football. Today Okocha has started a project to train future footballers by catching them young.

One can decide to crucify Adokiye or spare him but the fact is that he said the truth, and whoever doesn’t love that should always count himself or herself a great enemy to our football development. The game today has grown beyond mere euphoric and entertainment engagement. It is serious money business, and we are busy cheating ourselves out of the benefits we should ordinarily reap in bounties.

Ten years ago we hosted the U-20 tournament. We handled the enlistment of the players our way, and we reap the whirlwind now. While Xavi and Alonso still wax strong for Spain after that outing, Ronaldinho performs wonders for his Brazil and our Aghahowa who we lied was 20 faded away about two years after. Only Yobo remains from that squad. We tried it earlier with Phillip Osondu, Nduka Ugbade, Pius Ikedia and others in the past and we witnessed their exit and progress or the lack of it in the game. Only Mutiu Adepoju and Nwankwo did best. And those that always came with the boys of the right age we have also seen going higher everyday in football. So who is cheating who?

And someone said Adokiye’s lambaste was ill-timed. And I say that that was hogwash. Truth is timeless and always on good time. What if he had been saying it earlier and nobody listened. He had to say it when it had the most impact, and in fact the timing was excellent. It does not make a difference if he said it on October 1 or any other day. So, next time, if we don’t want to blame anybody for raising the issue, let’s send the right age to the tournament. Where in the whole world do 17-year olds look like Stanley Okoro, Fortune Chukwudi and the rest? Are we not ashamed and tired of all these lies that never pay?

I withdrew my support for our U-17 in 2007 after the Yemi Tella boys returned victorious from Korea. On this fateful day, I visited Abuja to see a friend who lived in Area 11 in Garki. That particular Sunday, he told me that the world champions were in his neighbourhood – at the Abuja Le-Meridien Hotel. We walked over to cheer and congratulate them. But immediately I met these boys at the lobby where they were relaxing that afternoon, I regretted ever supporting them. I state a fact that none of them looked less than 25. I left the hotel feeling cold and stupid. Again, where are those boys today?
Ironically, I keep wondering if FIFA is sane in the head. Or which truthful person would look at these boys we have been fielding and accept they are 17 or below. Moreover, if you guys insist they are within the right age, can you please tell us the secondary schools you recruit them from because unarguably most of the teens of 14 to 17 are still senior secondary students in Nigeria. Let’s tell ourselves the truth that these men are not boys at all.

We got it wrong when we dropped the national and state secondary schools football competitions. We definitely don’t start early and would use cheating to make up. There were years the Shell secondary schools cup used to produce reputable footballers for the nation at the grassroots. But we lost all these to shortcuts.
There is no magic to the great performance of the boys from Europe and America in these age group competitions. The secret is that they start early. If you were observant when Spain played Columbia for the third place, you would notice that those Spanish boys are mainly from the junior teams of Zaragoza, Athletico Madrid, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Villareal and other Primera Ligue sides.

Let someone in our football management revive the platform of training footballers from young and we will find out that most other countries don’t cheat in age but start early and devote time to develop the players.
Ironically, the two youngest looking Nigerian players in the 2009 U-17 squad – Sani Emmanuel and Ramon Azeez were the best performers while those cheating old men just filled the gap.

Adokiye deserves national honours for speaking up. If Obuh had won the trophy and the team fades tomorrow his achievement meant nothing. But if we field boys of the right age who don’t win the trophy but get exposure that grooms them to win us bigger trophies in future we are better off.