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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013
Beat Cape Verde to boost player confidence, Erico tells Keshi
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ormer Super Eagles goalkeeper coach, Joe Erico has said it will be an AFCON boost for Eagles to win their friendly tie against the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde today. Both sides are using the clash at the Algarve Stadium in Faro, Portugal as build-up for their 2013 AFCON campaign in South Africa. The Islanders, who are making their debut at the biennial football showpiece, will vie for honour in Group A with hosts, South Africa, Angola and Morocco while two-time African champions, Nigeria will campaign in Group C against Cup holders, Zambia, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.
Erico said after pulling a heartwarming 1-1 draw against starstudded Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain a win against Cape Verde will boost the Eagles’ confidence heading to the Nations Cup. “I never placed undue emphasis on winning when it comes to friendly matches but having pulled a draw against the Catalonian selected a win against Cape Verde will boost the Eagles’ confidence going into the 2013 Nations Cup. “Defeat will be demoralizing and they should avoid defeat perhaps worst case settle for a draw,” said the former Nigerian shot-stopper said. The former Iwuanyanwu Nationale coach will want
manager, Stephen Keshi to be fair and firm in the selection of the final 23-man AFCON list. “I know he would have made up his mind on the final 23 I want to believe the choices will plug the loopholes noted in the team. I equally believe he will be fair to both local and foreignbased players,” he said. Erico charged the Eagles to give every Afcon opponent equal attention. “The Eagles should play every game as if it has never been played before and must avoid underrating any opponent. “Nobody would have given Cape Verde a chance against Cameroon, every country at the Nations Cup is potential winner,
so they must take every game seriously,” he said. The Eagles will kicks-off their chase for a third African title against Burkina Faso on January 21 in Nelspruit.
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Stephen Keshi
AFN coach appeals for more training programmes
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print coach with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Obodoechina Iwunoh, has called for regular coaching clinics for coaches to enable them to perform maximally. Iwunoh noted that coaches that were not regularly exposed to refresher courses would have nothing new to impart. “If the athlete being trained is more conversant with the current trends in the sport, what will you expect the coach to teach him? “That is why coaches should not be left out from training tours, because it
Shola Ameobi
will go a long way in instilling the best in the athletes,’’ he said. He stressed that when coaches were sufficiently trained, they would be able to properly groom their wards for international competitions. Iwunoh said in addition to proper exposure of coaches to the requisite programmes, early preparation for competitions was the only way to excel in such competitions. “Every success story in any sport boils down to early preparations of the athletes involved in that sport; so it should be encouraged,’’ Iwunoh said.
No punishment for Ameobi – NFF Iorfa set for CAF T coaching course
he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will not take action against Shola Ameobi following his failure to honour his invitation to represent his country nation at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. The forward was called up by head coach of the Nigerian national team, Stephen Keshi alongside 31 others but he failed to turn up or give any reason for his decision. The 31-year-old striker made his senior international debut against Venezuela two months ago and was set to be included in a 23-man Super Eagles squad for the Cup of Nations between January 19 and February 10. But once Ameobi was chosen in a provisional Nigerian squad, the Newcastle United manager, Alan Pardew said the player would not be going to South Africa for the tournament without giving a reason. Although it emerged that a clause in the contract of Ameobi allowed the English Premier League club to retain his services during the tournament, Eagles coach, Keshi did not drop him from the squad until last weekend. In accordance with Article 36 Paragraphs 2b) and 5c) of FIFA regulations, if a player is called up, he must be released to play in the final competition organised by FIFA or a
confederation and held in a period fixed/set in the calendar. In this event, the period of release shall be 14 days. The NFF thus has the power to appeal to FIFA to stop the player from representing Newcastle during the period of the competition but the federation has now revealed that it will not toe that line. “We will not be appealing to FIFA to stop Ameobi from playing for Newcastle,” general secretary of the NFF, Musa Ahmadu said. Reminded that this may set a negative precedent, Ahmadu said “there are more important issues than Ameobi.” “There are more important issues than Ameobi. We have players that can do well at the Nations Cup and we will not speak about a player that is not in the team,” he said. In November 2012, Senegal invoked FIFA’s five-day rule after Newcastle United striker, Papiss Demba Cisse withdrew from the Teranga Lions’ squad for a friendly in Niger Republic citing a back problem. The Senegalese Football Federation stated that it was not sent details of Cisse’s condition and he was forced to sit out Newcastle’s Premier League game against Swansea after FIFA upheld the claims of the West African nation.
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ormer Nigerian International and Lobi Stars Technical Adviser, Dominic Iorfa, will join top coaches across the continent for a Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) coaching course
Dominic Iorfa
Hamilton urges NWPL sponsorship
in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The coaching course runs from 9 th to January 11, 2013. The course is for coaches expected to lead teams for continental assignments this year. Also to attend the course with Iorfa is former Nigerian International, Barnabas Imenger, who has returned to the technical crew of the Makurdi based club. Imenger wiil boost Iorfa’s backroom staff in the dugout. “I’m Nigeria’s best coach. My training schedule is dynamic so this is a good initiative,” Iorfa said. Without a coaching certificate, Iorfa rejuvenated Lobi Stars and groomed several homegrown talents who pushed for the Nigerian double last term. However, Lobi Stars eventually finished third on the NPL log and lost the Cup to Heartland in an exciting final last year. As a result, Iorfa will not be in the dugout when the Super Four begins in Kano.
ormer Super Falcons’ Head Coach, Paul Hamilton has called for adequate sponsorship of the Nigeria Women’s Premier League (NWPL), to enable the country’s female football to yield better results. Hamilton said that the stability of the league had a direct relationship with the results of the female national teams in international tournaments. The coach, who decried the slow pace of development in female football due to poor league sponsorship, however, commended the players for their performance in international tournaments in 2012. “We have discussed it in the past, the sponsorship of the Nigeria Women’s Premier League is poor; I even salute the players for their performance in some of the tournaments attended. “The players are ready to get involved and do the country proud; I have even seen some of them this January, at the National Stadium,” he said. Hamilton noted that the inability of some league matches to hold, as at when due, was due to the failure of some teams to show up, stressing that they lacked sponsors. “In short, I praise the girls who play the women’s league because I do not know the source of their strength. At the moment they do not have sponsors. “Their appearance at international matches itself is worth celebrating because the league has not received the needed support,’’ he said. Hamilton said that good sponsorship would produce an uninterrupted league which would invariably position the country at the top in international competitions. Hamilton, however, urged public-spirited individuals and corporate bodies to intervene in women’s football, to enable it to yield better fruits for the country.
Paul Hamilton