Attention President Muhammadu Buhari: This is
what the man you appointed the general
overseer of our sports told an international
media organisation,Voice of America, Hausa
Service: Nigeria does not need to attend the
next World Cup holding in Russia.


The World Cup is not just a football
competition. It also represents a bigger avenue
for nations to showcase their football artistry to
a global audience, with players getting to
secure new and bumper contracts and
endorsements, which in turn, impact positively
on the country’’s Gross Domestic Product and
Foreign Direct Investment. Football is business
and the World Cup fetches money for all
participants. It is top in entertainment and
business. Qualifiers even earn more than $5m
from Fifa.


Besides the Olympics, the World Cup is by far
the single biggest sports competition in the
world, drawing record crowd appearances and
creating a never-seen like before football
atmospheres for its one-month duration.


The road to the next World Cup in 2018 is on,
with the Super Eagles are leading the proverbial
group of death with six maximum points from
two matches against Zambia and Algeria.


Cameroon, the only African country with the
most appearance at the World Cup make up
the group, from which only the first-placed
team qualifies for the event.


Having missed out on a place at the next Africa
Cup of Nations, starting in January in Gabon,
Nigeria desperately needs to play at the World
Cup to make up for the lost chance to play at
AFCON 2017 but bizarrely, the one who ought
to be championing the cause of going to the
World Cup is ridiculously the one kicking
against it.


Minister of Sport and Youth Development,
Solomon Dalung yesterday stunned all when he
told the Voice of America that he was against
Nigeria’s participation at the World Cup.


His reasons: “That competition stinks of
corruption; that Nigeria is too poor to waste
money on it and that Nigeria would never win
the trophy”. The implication of his statement is
also that it is not necessary to waste money
qualifying when you cannot win the World Cup.
As shocking as these may be, Dalung, a lawyer
by training, said Nigeria should be content with
playing at the Nations Cup, Olympics,
Commonwealth Games. He said that Nigeria
could win the Nations Cup but not the World
Cup. World Cup finalists are guaranteed huge
sum of money running into millions.


According to Dalung, “The cup that we can win
is the African Cup of Nations. There is nothing
again that will take us to another man’s
balcony in the name of the World Cup. We
already have the Commonwealth Games and
the Olympics. For these, we can attend such
meets. But I am opposed to the World Cup. We
don’t agree to it. Conspiracy in the World Cup
is too much,” he said, a statement that could
upset the world governing body, FIFA. He was
not done.


“There is the issue of bribery and favouritism.


There is also the issue of corruption before you
are even given the hosting rights. We are here
suffering from hunger and we don’t have
money for such things. That is why, even if we
try many times, once it gets into the politics of
the game, we can never win.


“That was why this year, we had to tackle him
(FIFA President, Ginani Infantino) and we said,
‘you , Infantino, if you win this election, you
have to give us a position. If not, we shall not
agree.’ And you see , by the grace of God, he
even picked an African as his Secretary-
General. That means he has started taking
honey and rubbing on our lips. That means
that one day, we shall get to really lick the
honey.”


This is ridiculous and unbelievable. But they are
the exact words of Sports Minister Dalung, a
man, who has allegedly fanned the embers of
discord, disunity and crisis in the Nigeria
Football Federation.


It is recalled that Dalung was the unseen hand
in the crisis of leadership, that rocked the NFF
after Chris Giwa threatened to seize power
from the Amaju Pinnick-led Executive Board.


Despite CAS and FIFA’s unambiguous backing
of Pinnick’s board, Dalung called for a meeting
between Pinnick and Giwa in his Abuja office,
which snowballed into an all-out fight between
both gladiators. As if that was not enough, the
Minister has continuously asked the Amaju led
board to co-opt Chris Giwa and his members
into their board, ignoring the fact that
membership of the board is through election. It
has been from one dispute to another and
Nigerian football has been in court.


Truly, football disputes are out of the
jurisdiction of the ordinary law court as the
Courts of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne,
Switzerland sits over all disputes in sports.


The minister’s latest comments confirm him as
a total stranger to sports who has bluntly
refused to learn the ropes.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/11/world-cup-bombshell-for-buhari-dalung-kicks-against-nigerias-participation/

It's not news that Dalung is retárded.

It took the President so long to appoint his ministers. This is one the disasters he bequeathed us. A square peg in a round hole

The guy said he is a novice. Being a novice is when you're ready to learn...so I don't know what he is, just making crazy statements.

I never expected more from this wacko set of people called minister. but I bet it, if he succeeded in getting Nigeria a ban from FIFA, the populace will deal with him.

useless beret wearing mongol.

Football is the only thing that unite us and give us happiness, and this fool that bought his so called lawyership want to take it away from us.


I blame u not but Dullard of Daura who appointed a fool like u

no be change agent Mr beret be this?

Dalung should check into a mental hospital,nobody wants to see him completely naked on a busy road.