Confederation of African Football
president, Issa Hayatou was of the view
that Nigerian football legend, Austin ‘Jay
Jay’ Okocha deserved to have won the
highest African football honour for all his
masterful displays during his playing days.
In 2003 and 2004 respectively when
Okocha was at his best, the African player
of the year award eluded him, much to
the surprise of most Nigerian soccer
enthusiasts conversant with African
football. Instead, Samuel Eto’o was
crowned back to back for those years,
with Didier Drogba as runner’s up, while
Okocha was third. Coincidentally, the
former Super Eagles midfield maestro was
voted back to back as the BBC African
player of the year for the same period.
This led to conspiracy theories that there
was a Francophone gang-up against
Okocha, who is from Nigeria, an
Anglophone country.
“If I have any regret that will be not
winning The African Footballer of the Year.
But then, I don’t think I was meant to
because I gave my best, but at the end, it
wasn’t good enough,” said Okocha in a
recent interview.
At the 2014 CAF awards, Hayatou seemed
to have felt his pain as he described the
awards established in 1992 as a
magnificent achievement and deserving to
be won by players who have distinguished
themselves on the field of play.
“Players like Jay Jay Okocha would have
been very worthy to feature in the list of
winners. But the technicians decided
otherwise, it is the law of the game,”
Hayatou said in his opening remarks.
Okocha who was named by Pele in his list
of 125 legends, started his career with the
Super Eagles in 1993 in a game against
Cote’d Ivoire during an African World Cup
qualifier. He cemented his place in the
Super Eagles in subsequent years and
was influential in the squad. His was part
of the team that won the African Cup of
Nations for the second time in 1994 and
also gold medal at the Atlanta 96’ Olympic
Games. However, he was unable to inspire
the team to qualify for the 2006 World Cup
in Germany, it was from that moment his
weight began to wane.
There hasn’t been another player like
Okocha in the continent. And perhaps this
way why Yaya Toure has been crowned
four years in a row and he seem bored
receiving the awards at the Eko Hotels
Convention centre last Thursday night as
he did not show any emotion in the
ceremony filled with quality entertainment.
Nigeria Football Federation president, Mr.
Amaju Pinnick congratulated Toure with no
hard feelings, but was quick to add that
Nigerian players need to raise their game
and also take their places in the CAF hall
of fame.
“No one can fault the awards given to
Toure. He deserves it; my only concern is
that Toure is playing for the wrong
premiership team.
“But seriously, this is a wake up call for
our players. It was only Vincent Enyeama
that we have seen this season and for him
to make the final list was a plus for him
being a goalkeeper,” Amaju said.
It was a thrilling evening, the music was
good. Food and wine were in abundant
supply and the gathered football family
had their fill after three long hours of
waiting for the show to begin.
The event was meant to celebrate football
and the stars past and present who made
the difference. Kalusha Bwalya was the
only former African international who was
invited to make presentations.
Credit: www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/hayatous-regret-okocha-deserved-caf-awards/

Idiot did u give him? Even d one he was close to wining how u do am?I jus pray u leave so we can hav a true feel of african football again. ewu nama

Why cry when the head is off already?

ALL NA WASH JARE, HE SHOULD V ADDED DAT "IF OKOCHA WERE TO BE FROM A FRANCOPHONE NATION HE WOULD AV WON IT",

that is a typical example of what we call,medicine after dead..