International Football
32 years on, has sports commentary on radio died with Ernest Okonkwo?
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
It is 32 years today since Ernest Okonkwo breath his last. He seemed to have gone with the magic of running commentary on sports events on radio.
There was a time when sports, especially football thrived in Nigeria. It was also an era of beautiful and graphically crafted informed commentaries on the traditional electronic media – radio and television.
In addition to the expected beautiful spectacles on the fields, sports followers eagerly awaited the voices of notable commentators like Ishola Folorunsho, Ernest Okonkwo, Sebastian Ofurum, Joe Lartey, Walter Batowei, Yinka Craig and Tolu Fatoyinbo among others.
That was in the ancient past. Most of these men have gone to the world beyond. Others have retired from service.
The Nigerian sports followers are starved of informed commentaries of proceedings on the fields, tracks and other sporting arenas.
In many instances, spectators went to the arena with their transistor radio sets to listen to graphic descriptions of scenes they were watching live.
Those commentators added colour to events they were describing. They were a delight to listen to.
The up and coming commentators have no models to take after. Most of the tapes of the informed commentators are no longer in existence.
Sina Abimbola, a retired Director of Programmes at Radio Nigeria is one of the broadcasters who worked under the tutelage of the Late Ernest Okonkwo.
He described him as ‘commentators’ commentator’. “EO, as we fondly called him, was a in the A1 class because of his knack for pictorializing scenes and situations in a way that successfully made him the eyes and ears of his listener. He was exceptional.”
But unfortunately, the country appears to be bereft of the A1 class of sports commentators both on television and on radio.
Abimbola explained that what obtained in the 1970s through the 1980s is no longer prevalent.
“We appear to have left the era when it was just radio and now that it is the era of television and middlemen in the mould of TV Rights buyers.
“They further use their rigidity to further alienate radio from the people with what you may call the Pay per View regime.
“In other words, the public service broadcasting philosophy that existed in Ernest Okonkwo’s time is no longer available. This is hampering radio talents in this field”, remarked Sina Abimbola.
Incidentally, in spite of the services rendered by Ernest Okonkwo and others in his ilk, the only significant remembrance of them is a broken board announcing the “Ishola Folorunsho – Ernest Okonkwo Media Tribune” on the left wing of the covered terrace of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.
In other climes, this may not be the most appropriate tribute. For instance, there was a certain Diego Lucero, a Uruguayan journalist based in Argentina who was reputed to be the only man known to have witnessed all World Cup finals from 1930 to 1994 before his death on June 3, 1995, aged 94.
Before his death, he was honoured with a Medal of Merit by FIFA at Mexico ’86 and had the School of Sports Journalism of La Plata in Argentina named after him.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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