Nigerian Football
NIGERIA’S MOST CAPPED WORLD CUP JOURNALIST SWITCHES ON HOTSPORTS XMAS LIGHT ON WORLD CUP DRAW DAY
On a day the Super Eagles will find out their group opponents at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Nigeria’s most capped World Cup journalist, Kunle Solaja, will be on hand to switch on this year’s HotSports Christmas light at the residence of HotSports CEO Mr TayeIge.
Usually, foremost sports marketing company HotSports switches on the Christmas light every December to celebrate the beginning of the Yuletide, however, this year’s event coincides with the World Cup Final Draw which holds in Russia and there couldn’t possibly be a better candidate to do the honour than World Cup veteran, Solaja
He is a long-standing member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and multiple award-winning journalist who has a career span of over 30 years in the media, spreading across major newspapers in Nigeria and abroad.
He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and the country’s most capped FIFA World Cup journalist having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Brazil 2014 – a record. He is looking forward to his eighth consecutive World Cup next year.
Solaja is one of the longest-serving editors in the country and undoubtedly, the most travelled. He is a back-to-back winner of the Nigerian Media Merit Award in 2009 and 2010 and had also authored two landmark books in sports – Super Eagles…through the ages and Going for Goals…Nigerian football’s hidden stories.
His coverage of international football event is not limited to the FIFA World Cup as he has attended virtually every segment of international football including the maiden edition of the Women Wold Cup in China in 1991.
He is looking forward to being in Russia next year as the Super Eagles bid to become to the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals.
The Super Eagles topped a qualifying group comprising African heavyweights Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia to secure their place in the tournament which they have only missed once in 2006 since making their debut in 1994 in USA.
Nigeria, who ran an unbeaten campaign in the qualifiers taking 14 points from six fixtures, are placed in Pot 4 and will draw one team each from Pot 1, Pot 2 and Pot 3, which are perceived to be stronger than Pot 4.
The miserable run of Akwa United and Ikorodu City came to an end after six games in the Nigerian Premier League this season. Both teams were initially glued at the bottom of the league table.
They now got respite as Akwa United beat Kano Pillar by 2-0 while Ikorodu City even did what could be considered an upset, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0.
Remo Stars bounced back to the top of the log after a 3-0 defeat of Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars are yet to get their rhythm this season, playing a barren draw with Enyimba in Ibadan.
Kwara United who got their first full points of the season last week after a 1-0 defeat of Remo Stars could not consolidate as they were beaten 1-0 by Abia Warriors.
Heartland under Emmanuel Amuneke are gradually recovering as they got a valuable away draw against El-Kanemi Warriors.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It is 75 years since Nigeria’s national football team first played an international match. That was on 8 October 1949 when the first set of Nigeria’s assembly on their return voyage stopped over in Freetown and engaged Sierra Leone in an international football match. Nigeria won 2-0, setting a chain of positive results on 8 October.
The country never lost any competitive duel on that date. More significantly, the Super Eagles first qualified for the World Cup on an 8 October date.
That was in 1993 when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in the quest for USA ‘94 World Cup.
Nigeria became the first English-speaking African country to qualify for the World Cup. Another significance of the October 8 match at the July 5 Stadium, Algiers is that Nigeria were unbeaten for the first time by Algeria at home.
The only deviation from the 8 October Magic was in 2015 when Nigeria lost 2-0 to Congo in a friendly match.
Twenty-six years after Nigeria’s debut international match, one of Africa’s biggest football nations, Egypt fell to the October 8 magic, losing 4-0 to Nigeria in the last stage of the triangular World Cup qualifying series for Argentina ’78.
Up till October 15, 2013, when Ghana beat Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi, the October 8, 1977 duel with Nigeria remained Egypt’s biggest loss in a World Cup qualifying match.
Before the 1977 duel, Nigeria in 1963 played a friendly match with Liberia in Monrovia. The October 8 magic was active, even in an away match. Nigeria drew 2-2 in their very first encounter with Liberia. It was shortly after the team had, through a protest, upturned a victory by Guinea to pick Nigeria’s very first African Nations’ Cup ticket.
Little wonder then that when FIFA suspended Nigeria in 2010, the world governing body provisionally lifted the ban on October 8!
Nigeria on 8 October
- 1949 – Freetown (Friendly) Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria
- 1963 – Monrovia (Friendly) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
- 1977 – Lagos (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
- 1993 – Algiers (World Cup qualifier) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria… qualify for USA ‘94.
- 2005 – Abuja (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
- 2010 – FIFA, in apparent respect to the 8 October magic, provisionally lifted a ban imposed on Nigeria.
- 2011 – Abuja (African Nations Cup qualifier) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea. Although undefeated, Nigeria failed to make it to the 2012 African Nations Cup.
- 2015 – D.R. Congo beat Nigeria 2-0 in Visé, Belgium. The ‘October 8 Magic’ is finally broken.
Rivers United have launched themselves to the top of the log at the end of the match day 5 of the Nigeria Premier League. The Port Harcourt side beat Akwa United 2-1 to go afloat after initial leaders, Remo Stars crumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Kwara United in Ilorin on Sunday.
It was Remo Stars’ first defeat in the season. Rivers United are now with 13 points. Stephen Mayo put Rivers United ahead after 31 minutes. But it turned a temporary lead as Akwa United bounced back almost at the blast of the referee’s whistle for the second half.
Friday Apollos levelled up for Akwa United before Ndifreke Effiong Udo scored the winner in the 85th minute.
Sunday Results
- Kwara United 1-0 Remo Stars
- Rangers International 1-0 Abia Warriors
- Heartland FC 2-0 Niger Tornadoes
- Kano Pillars 2-0 Sunshine Stars
- Plateau United 1-0 Ikorodu City
- Rivers United 2-1 Akwa United
- Enyimba 3-0 Katsina United* Suspended
- Nasarawa 0-0 Bayelsa United
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