Nigerian Football
SOUTH WEST NIGERIA STANDS STILL FOR TAIWO OGUNJOBI
The final passage rites for the late Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi enters a major pahse this Wednesday as the Western Nigeria Football Forum (WNFF), headed by the First Vice president of the Nigeria Football Federation and chairman of the Lagos FA, Seyi Akinwunmi, holds a symposium in honour of the departed football administrator.
The late Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi was a former Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Association and later a board member of the NFF. His last duty post before he breathed his last was the chairmanship of the Osun State FA in South West, Nigeria.
Before taken up football administrative roles, Ogunjobi was a footballer for the Shooting Stars, which he captained to the final of the 1984 Africa Cup of Champions Clubs.
He also played for the Nigeria Academicals, which defeated Ghana 5-1 in 1974. Ogunjobi was the hero of the match as he scored three of the goals. Shortly, he left Nigeria shores to study at the Clemson University in the US.
His only cap for the Nigerian national team was the 11 February 1984 Olympic Games qualifying match with Morocco. Coincidentally, he died exactly 35 years after the match.
According to the 1st Vice President of the NFF and coordinator Western Nigeria Football Forum, Seyi Akinwunmi, the symposium holding in honour of Ogunjobi has the theme: ‘Celebrating the life and times of Ogunjobi.”
It will hold at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Lekan Salami Satdium, Adamasingba, Ibadan. The symposium will begin at 4pm.
He further informed that former NFF President, Alhaji Sani Lulu, the current president of the NFF Amaju Pinnick, the chairman of Shooting Stars Sports Club Gbolagade Busari, football legend Chief Segun Odegbami, veteran sports journalist, Ade Somefun as well as Gboyega Makinde, Elder Bode Oyewole among others will give tributes at the event expected to have the State Commissioners for Sports in Oyo and Osun as Special Guests of honour.
Later in the evening, there will be candle light procession. It was also gathered that there will be novelty matches involving Family United By Sports (FUBS) where he was the captain of the Lagos-based first class whatsapp group football team/ Lagos All Stars versus Ex-Shooting Stars /Osun United on Thursday.
The lying-in-state ceremony will later on Thursday take place at Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan.
The body of the late Secretary General of the NFF will be interred to mother earth on Friday at a private cemetery.
Akinwunmi, while expressing sadness over the death of the former Osun FA chairman, said: “This.is an avenue to honour him because he did so well for football in the South West and Nigeria as a whole.
He enjoined all football stakeholders to turn out enmasse to pay their last respect to the former captain and Sole Administrator of the Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan,” he said.
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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