Governing Bodies

Nigeria @ 61: Media men, the unheralded heroes of Nigerian sports

Published

3 years ago

October 2, 2021

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Year in year out, Nigerians celebrate the attainment of self government by reeling out sectoral marks including that of sports. Mention is hardly given to those people whose efforts had seen Nigerian sports leaping over national frontiers.

These are the media men, the sports journalists who have in various forms contributed to national development. They represent the factor responsible for the spread of sports which have helped in building bridges.

They are the bridge for the fans, the participants and the sports disciplines. If people talk about a factor responsible for spread of sports’ passion, they are directly talking about the sports writer.

In the 61 years of Nigerian independence, while growth in sport has been dynamic, the mass media undoubtedly, are in the vanguard of factors leading to its growth and popularity.

The media make it possible for sports to vault over regional, national and even continental frontiers. Through the mass media, it is possible for the prowess of a hitherto local star to stimulate the invasion of foreign scouts.

The mass media have therefore been partly responsible for the fame and wealth some of the footballers are getting.

Also, through the works of the sports journalists, the local fans become privy to the exploits of the legion of Nigerian players abroad.

The attention which the mass media lavish on sports generally, and football in particular, is illustrated by the comparison with other segments of the national life.

Radio and television broadcast have special time allocated to sports reporting. It is even more glaring in newspapers.

Globally, since the 1870s when the Hungarian-American newspaper publisher, Joseph Pulitzer organised the first sport department in his just purchased New York World, it had become traditional for publications to separate sports news from the rest.

While economic, political and other social matters are often parts of regular news reports; sports have their distinct pages and often encroach into pages for regular news such as front page when the events assume greater proportions.

Some editors have found the need to make sports pages the selling factor of their newspapers.

The relationship between sports and the media is therefore inter-dependent. The newspapers have the tendency to believe that they need sports, to sell more copies.

Sports too, need the media to sell themselves. The relationship is therefore symbiotic.

It is therefore to the credit of sports journalists that passion for sports, especially, football has been pervasive. To the overwhelming fans that are relegated to the anonymity of spectators’ stands, the sports journalist serves a vital role.

It is through his works that the fan follows the actions in his favourite sport and improves his knowledge of the star performers.

Larry Izamoje set up the first sports radio in the country and the station has done so well in getting many Nigerians informed. Thanks to the penetrating effect of radio.

The media men have not only kept alive the entertainment values of sports, but have also supplied informative and educative news on the game. Through surveillance journalism, the Nigerian sports writers had supplied vital information on Nigerian oppositions, so that in the march to victory of the Super Eagles for instance, the press played vital roles.

When in 1989 Nigeria suffered a two-year ban on infringement on age-regulations, the National Concord, through a series of articles, revealed FIFA’s double standard on the issue as some notable football powers – Brazil and Italy – had committed similar offence.

Since 1960, the media has produced an array of sports journalists. For purpose of easy comprehension, football writing will be used to illustrate the illustrious contributions by the media men.

Football undoubtedly gains its pride of place, owing to the lavish attention of the mass media, both traditional and the new.

The mass media undoubtedly, are in the vanguard of factors leading to its growth and popularity. The newspapers, the radio, television and lately, the social media, make it possible for football to thrive.

Through the mass media, it is possible for the prowess of a hitherto local star to stimulate the invasion of foreign scouts. The mass media have therefore been partly responsible for the fame and wealth some of the footballers are getting.

Practitioners are now moving from the era of merely reporting the game to administering it. Many well respcted sports journalists have moved from what they were reporting to perform rescue jobs in administration.

One of the well-respected sports journalists, Paul Bassey (Paul or is it “Sport” Bassey), was called up for rescue mission in his home state, Akwa Ibom and has twice the club into continental competitions and a one league tile.

Bassey is treading a path that is not too unfamiliar for the sport journalists. Aisha Falode, a queen in sportscasting, has been a recurring face in women football administration.

Also, more than any position, journalism can lay claim to the soul of Nigerian league! Four of the current 20 clubs, almost a quarter of the fold in the elite Nigerian league, are being run by journalists.

Tell me of another career that can boast of the feat. It is a reward for the services journalism has rendered

to the beautiful game.

Before Bassey in the present dispensation, we have Emeka Inyama, who took Abia Warriors from the lower rung of the league to the premier division.

Inyama is a journalist, who had worked at the Imo State-owned Statesman, Champion Newspapers and later the Sportslink.

Godwin Enakhena, whose daily presentations on radio and television are delights, steered the MFM team from the Nigeria National League, the second-tier division in Nigerian football, to the premier league. As the General Manager of the club, he steered it to become the winners of a global tournament among churches in 2014.

Also, Moses Etu, the journalist who transited from being a media officer to chairman of continental title chasing Warri Wolves. His story is almost like that of the Biblical Joseph. He was probably thinking on how he would consolidate his position as media officer of Warri Wolves, a position he assumed in 2013, but he got a surprise package as he was named the ‘supremo’ of the club on January 5 this year.

Prior to his joining the club, he had been a freelance journalist with National Sportslink, SoccerStar before joining the Delta State-owned newspaper, The Pointer in 2008.

Before the quartet of Bassey, Inyama, Enakhena and Etu, Fan Ndubuoke, another notable journalist steered Heartland to win the Federation Cup in 2012, just as Bode Oyewole who had been a journalist at Radio Nigeria

Ibadan led Shooting Stars to win the league in 1998.

Perhaps, as a tribute to journalism, that was the last time the club tasted national honours. Journalism did not just end at putting its personnel in high position of running the clubs; the control of football associations has been getting journalistic influences.

Fan Ndubuoke once headed the Imo State FA, just as his ‘twin’ brother from another mother; Emeka Inyama did some years ago in Abia State. Frank Ilaboya, another journalist headed the Edo State FA. Journalists are not done yet.

Nduka Irabor, another notable journalist midwifed the present dispensation of the improved premier league as the pioneer boss of the League Management Company.

In other category, Alloy Chukwuemeka, who was a freelance journalist at both Sportslink and SoccerStar later became the Team Manager and later General Manager of the Ilorin-based ABS club.

For some time, he has been the secretary of the Club Owners Association.This brings to relevance, the age long quote of former England and West Ham United player, Malcolm Allison: “A lot of people in football don’t have much time for the press; they say they’re amateurs. But I say to those people. ‘Noah was an amateur when he built the Biblical Ark, but the Titanic (supposedly unsinkable, but sank in its first voyage) was built by professionals.

Governing Bodies

Zimbabwe sports minister among candidates for International Olympic Committee presidency

Published

3 days ago

September 16, 2024

Kunle Solaja

A total of seven candidates are running for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee with the winner replacing outgoing president Thomas Bach at elections in March 2025 in ancient Olympia, Greece.

Kirsty Coventry:

Age: 41

Country: Zimbabwe

Entry into the IOC: 2013

An Olympic swimming champion and Zimbabwe’s most successful Olympian, Coventry is Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister. She is the only woman among the candidates and the only one from Africa.

Prince Feisal Al Hussein:

Age: 60

Country: Jordan

Entry into the IOC: 2010

Prince Feisal heads the Jordan Olympic Committee and has been an IOC executive board member since 2019. An Executive Board member of the Olympic Council of Asia, Prince Feisal has also held several posts at the Royal Jordanian Air Force.

Sebastian Coe:

Age: 67

Country: Britain

Entry into the IOC: 2020

An Olympic track and field champion and head of World Athletics, Coe also led the organisation for the 2012 London Olympics. A former Conservative Member of Parliament, Coe is also involved in sports consultancy and is a former head of the British Olympic Association.

Johan Eliasch:

Age: 62

Country: Britain

Entry into the IOC: 2024

The wealthy Swedish-born entrepreneur with a variety of business interests has headed the international skiing federation since 2021. He only joined the IOC in July at its session in the Paris Olympics.

David Lappartient:

Age: 51

Country: France

Entry into the IOC: 2022

A rising figure in world sports administration. He heads the international cycling body, UCI, and is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.

Juan Antonio Samaranch:

Age: 64

Country: Spain

Entry into the IOC: 2001

The son of the late former IOC president, Samaranch has considerable IOC experience and influence in his six years as vice president and 23 as a member. He headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Morinari Watanabe:

Age: 65

Country: Japan

Entry into the IOC: 2018

Watanabe has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since. He is the first Japanese candidate to run for the IOC presidency.

Governing Bodies

World Athletics boss, Coe and multi-millionaire Eliasch among seven candidates for IOC presidency

Published

4 days ago

September 16, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Paris 2024 Olympics - Athletics - Women's Marathon Victory Ceremony - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - August 11, 2024. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach during the medal ceremony REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

World athletics chief Sebastian Coe, multi-millionaire and Olympic newcomer Johan Eliasch and Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry are among seven candidates for next year’s International Olympic Committee presidency election, the IOC said on Monday.

IOC Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch, son of the late former IOC president, international cycling chief David Lappartient, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan and international gymnastics federation head Morinari Watanabe are also in the running to succeed current president Thomas Bach.

The 70-year-old German is stepping down next year after 12 years at the helm. The election will be held at the IOC session in ancient Olympia, Greece in March 2025.

The candidates will all present their programmes, behind closed doors, to the full IOC membership in January 2025.

The IOC, with 111 members currently, is in charge of the Olympic Games and the multi-billion dollar industry linked to the world’s biggest multi-sports event.

Bach’s departure comes with the organisation in a financially robust position, having secured $7.3 billion for the years 2025-28 and $6.2 billion already in deals for 2029-2032.

The president is elected to an eight-year first term with the possibility of a second term of four years, if re-elected.

Coe, 67, only joined the IOC in 2020 after a rocky relationship between World Athletics and the IOC over Coe’s ban of Russian track and field athletes almost a decade ago following the country’s doping scandal.

A former Olympic champion with a wealth of experience in the sports world, Coe was previously head of the London 2012 Games and the British Olympic Association. He is also a former Conservative Member of Parliament.

Coventry, 41, is the only woman running for president and the former Olympic swimming champion, who is Zimbabwe’s most decorated Olympian, could become not only the first female president but also the first from Africa.

MALE PRESIDENTS

All IOC presidents have been men, with eight of the nine from Europe and one from the United States.

The 62-year-old Eliasch, head of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), only joined the IOC in July, with the Swedish-born British businessman’s candidacy a surprise for some.

Prince Feisal, 60, is a member of the IOC executive board, having joined the organisation in 2010, while Spaniard Samaranch, with considerable IOC experience in his six years as vice president, headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

“The IOC and Olympic movement have made enormous strides over the past decade under the leadership of Mr Bach,” said Samaranch in a statement.

“The IOC now needs a new leader with deep experience of the Olympic movement who can help steer it through this period of upheaval.”

UCI chief Lappartient has been a rapidly rising figure within the sports world after joining the IOC in 2022.

The Frenchman also is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.

Japan’s Watanabe, 65, has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since, and is his country’s first ever candidate for the IOC presidency.

Under current rules members have to step down when they reach 70, the IOC’s age limit, unless they are given a four-year extension.

-Reuters

Governing Bodies

Storm in CAF over proposed statutes amendments

Published

5 days ago

September 15, 2024

Kunle Solaja

There is currently insinuations that proposed certain elements may have smuggled modifications to amend the Statutes of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) when the body holds its General Assembly next month in Kinshasa, Congo next month.

The confederation will be having its 46^th General Assembly on 10^th October. It is at such gatherings that amendments are made to existing rules.

According to an article authored by Mansour Loum, the editor of Sports News Africa, some national football federations have denied being party to proposed amendments which were linked to them.

One of such is coming from the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation which has denied signing proposals being circulated relating to amendments to CAF Statutes.

It is claimed that a circular dated 8 September has been sent to CAF member associations. Signed by CAF General Secretary, Véron Mosengo-Omba, it is titled: “Proposals for amendments to the CAF statutes and regulations for the application of the statutes, as well as the rules of procedure of the CAF General Assembly, presented by the national associations.”

Seven member associations were quoted as sponsoring the amendments. They are: Botswana, Comoros, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania and Niger.

But Equatorial Guinea has denied being party to the proposed amendment which seek to remove age barrier for candidates seeking to be CAF Presidents and also removing zonal considerations in election into FIFA Council.

The current Statute stipulates that a presidential candidate must not be older than 70 as at the date of election.

Most of the national federation members are already approaching that age. In the estimation of the author of the article, Mansour Loum, the current CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, is 62 years old. With the age limit, he could, for example, only run for two more terms.

Continuing, Loum wrote that regarding the elections to the FIFA Council, each zone has a representative on the FIFA Council and candidates for these positions can only be elected by the presidents of the member associations of their group zone.

Thus, the presidents of French-speaking federations can only vote for a French-speaking representative, the English-speakers for the English-speaking group, and so on.

The distribution of seats on the FIFA Council is currently as follows:

Francophone Group – Two members

Anglophone Group – Two members

Arabophone/Lusophone/Hispanophone Group – Two members

One female member elected from among the female candidates, regardless of language groups

The modification of the grouping by zonal unions would mean that all presidents could vote for candidates outside their group, or that the candidates would also no longer be limited to a group.

Several candidates from the same group could be elected to the FIFA Council, while at the same time some groups could no longer be represented.

Equatorial Guinea disputes any request for modification. The football federation president, Venancio Tomas Ndong Micha has reportedly denied being party to the proposed amendments.

“I am writing to you to present the disagreement of the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation with part of the content of the document sent to the CAF Executive Council on September 8, 2024 signed by you (…)

“In this document, there are amendments presented by the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation (…) By this letter, we confirm that the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has not submitted any amendments to the CAF administration for the 46th CAF Ordinary General Assembly to be held on Thursday, October 10, 2024 in Kinshasa,” he denounces.

Enough to cast doubt on this document sent by the CAF secretary general and the objective targeted. Contacted, a federation president, whose body is not mentioned in the letter, is surprised by these two requests for amendments and wonders about their intentions.

The press release from the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has sown doubt and now he is questioning the originality of the attachments included in this document which is likely to be talked about between now and the CAF General Assembly.

– Mansour Loum