₦airaland Forum

TheGoodJoe:
So do not select based on young or old. Or based on game time or no game time. Those are sentimental choices. Come up with a strategic indicator system, screen and select the best keepers. The best should mount the goal.

You're can't be serious. Let's use the world champions as a case study. In their championship winning team, list the bench warmers you know.

Truidstar:
Akpeyi is not it. We should not use sentiments when selecting players, that's the problem I have with our local coaches, Aloy Agu chose him on the day and Rohr being a professional relied on his judgement which was flawed. Read somewhere the NFF has appointed another goal keeper trainer to work or it Agu based on Rohrs recommendation. Akpeyi has no business in that team. He will not be called up against Cameroon.

Granted Akpeyi is not world class but can you do me a favour, point out those "blunders" of his that cost us games he have manned the post.
If you struggle to list those obvious errors that lead to goals then you're being unfair, shall we?

TheGoodJoe:
The best. Seaman, David James etc have had atrocious series of games despite loads of experience. It is no guarantee. The best hands after screening is the best hands. No other story. Any other reason for sending a player into the field is SENTIMENTS.

I have also seen youngsters who were given chances too early and they bombed, nothing was ever heard of them again.

Joebie:
Anyone who have been following or reading my comments on This forum will know I hardly use the term world class. The point is I'm by far more comfortable with Ikeme in goal. I'm sure we can post videos of gaffes by even the best keepers. Ikeme has far more experience and is well tested playing in the championship over the years than Akpeyi. The best keeper shows it again and again. Akpeyi is not even the better than all the NPFL keepers. If that's a lie give them a chance and u will see what will happen. Akpeyi's days are numbered in SE.

Are you sure Akpeyi is not better than what we have in the npfl? You do realize Akpeyi was the best keeper in Nigeria when he helped Heartland to a champions league final and 2 Fa cups? He is the vice Captain of his team in SA. Former Nigeria youth international. I mean who in the npfl have something close to this resume?
Take a look at his ratings against South Africa in 2015, for goodness sake he made the top 3 performers in Africa that week by africanfootball.com



Daniel Akpeyi – South Africa 1-1 Nigeria – 29 March, Nelspruit

In the wake of Vincent Enyeama collecting his 100th cap for Nigeria against Uganda last week, Daniel Akpeyi demonstrated that the Super Eagles have enviable goalkeeping depth with an excellent display against South Africa that included several excellent saves, one of them denying Andile Jali from the penalty spot.
http://africanfootball.com/news/521561/Three-top-African-performances

After the SA game Rohr said the goals conceded were not his fault.
'These kind of games are very difficult for goalkeepers. The possibility was to bring in [Ikechukwu] Ezenwa or [Dele] Alampasu, but I think [the goals] was not the fault of the goalkeeper.

I understand people are more confident with Ikeme but the truth is that he is not infallible and in his absence Akpeyi is capable of deputizing. The unfair witch hunt against Akpeyi tells me the fans are the biggest problem of this team.
I think it was a masterstroke for the nff to employ an extra psychologist for this team especially to work with the goalkeepers.

Joebie:
Ikeme Just recently promoted? Lol.. Enyeama now surplus to requirement? You seem to have forgotten Enyeama's fine record in Ligue 1 in recent seasons. Please can we even boast of Akpeyi at any point in history, besides one or two good showings? It's unfortunate you like to defend the average. For me, Nigeria can do far better in that department. Let's not go too far, lets learn from neighbors Cameroon.

Ikeme became the first choice goalkeeper for Wolves in the 2013 season. Mind you, this guy is 31 years old. He only became first choice for his club at 28.
In England, he is considered average who has had a fair share of his own gaffes down the years. You can see some of them.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbX3vYoMf5k


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3r7wwvEYkM

Even last season he had a few shockers. You may not know this because you don't follow the English championship but that's the reality. Ikeme is not world class like some have been thinking. His case have become absence making the heart grow fonder.

The goals he conceeded against Zambia and Egypt are just identical to the ones Akpeyi considered. But people want to kill Akpeyi.

We have to be real, we don't have any proper world class goalkeeper.

BascoVanVeli:
Ifeanyi stumble at home and other NPFL Hot Takes

Colin Udoh, KweséESPN

There were great goals aplenty this past weekend in the Nigeria Professional Football League, and MFM FC striker Stephen Odey extended his dominance at the top of the goal charts.

But the weekend's biggest talking point came from Nnewi, where FC Ifeanyi Ubah not only lost their 100 percent home win record, but came close to losing all three points against relegation-threatened Gombe United.

Here's a look at that, as well as a few other talking points from game week 31.

IFEANYI UBAH LOSE HOME INVINCIBILITY

Two years after their stadium was opened, FC Ifeanyi Ubah have finally lost their home invincibility, to relegation strugglers no less.

Supporters of FC Ifeanyi Ubah describe stadium in Nnewi as The Fortress. And so they should. The club had won every single game played there to date. Until Gombe United came calling on Sunday.

Such was the confidence the club had in their home ground, and their under-estimation of the visitors, that leading striker Godwin Obaje was given the weekend off to get married.

It all started well for the hosts. Two superb free kicks from Isaac Loute helped them race into a two-goal lead in the first half, with the potential for even more.

But the visitors flipped the script in the second half, as Sanni Abanni and former Ifeanyi Ubah player Austin Oladapo bagged the goals to draw level.

But the drama did not end there. With the board going up to signal five additional minutes, the home side pushed forward for the winner, only to leave themselves exposed at the back. Gombe duly took advantage, launching a deadly counter attack that ended in a low cross and a tap in.

But, the referee called time on the match at the very moment the ball was about to be tapped into the net, and with two minutes of the added time still to be played.

SUNSHINE RISE OFF BOTTOM OF TABLE

It was not so long ago that Sunshine looked all but condemned to relegation, especially after losing a winnable home game.

But four wins from five, including a road win at Rivers United and Sunday's slim win over El Kanemi, catapulted the Akure Gunners all the way up to the relative safety of 11th position on the log.

It is a remarkable turnaround for Duke Udi's men and represents a win for the positive spirit that the former Super Eagle has maintained since taking over the job from Austin Eguavoen.

Sunshine now only need to win three of their remaining seven games to be safe.

RIVERS UNITED RESPOND TO ULTIMATUM

Rivers United coach Stanley Eguma had been under pressure in recent weeks, even more so after his side's midweek home loss to Sunshine Stars.

After a crisis meeting called by the team owners, Eguma was subsequently issued with an ultimatum: Win the next few games or face sanctions.

His players responded admirably to the challenge, putting three goals past fellow strugglers Wikki Tourists on Sunday.

For a team that rarely scores more than a goal a game, and had never cracked the three-goal ceiling all season, it appears the ultimatum was a good way to shock the squad to a worthy performance.

AKWA UNITED SHOW GRIT

Since overcoming their early troubles to turn their season around, Akwa United have continued to show remarkable character as they chase for a place in the top three.

Nasarawa United, who claimed a road win at Sunshine Stars last weekend, looked on course for another shock result when Aminu Kadir put them went in front before half time.

But Ubong Friday netted his seventh of the season to level things at the break and it was left to Christian Pyagbara to secure the win with a superb combination of team effort and individual brilliance in the second half.

The Promise Keepers stayed third on the log and with a game in hand, could well be on their way to a CAF Champions League spot.

LMC MEDICAL WORKS

The victory song of the Shooting Stars' 1-0 win over hard fighting Enyimba FC was almost marred by an awkward collapse of stand-in skipper Sylvanus Ebiaku midway into the exciting encounter.

Ebiaku had gone in with a sweeping tackle against a rampaging opponent but landed on his head and passed out. The sudden and unusual gesticulations of few players around the area attracted the referee's attention to Ebiaku's prone body.

The incident prompted the arrival of combined medics and ambulance who resuscitated him to a conscious state before he was drove out in the ambulance for further medical attention.

http://kwese.espn.com/football/nigeria/story/3164535/ifeanyi-stumble-at-home-and-other-npfl-hot-takes

Completely disgusted by the bolded. The government should intervene in this matter because some refs and officials want to keep our league in the stone age.

Earlier in the season against Rangers in Nnewi. Rangers scored a beautiful goal from a free kick which was ruled out and 2 dubious penalties were awarded to Ifeanyi Uba, they missed one and scored the second one. 1 nil to Ifeanyi Uba.. Lol

Joebie:
The latest is he is under consideration by Rohr.

Our GK is our biggest problem in terms o personnel because we can't beat our chest and say we have a good replacement for Ikeme, since we know Enyeama. For the other positions we can at least mention names with confidence. Just when I was thinking we need to recall Emenike he banged in a goal today. Looking at his record he has never been that high scoring forward at the club level, but has hardly dissapointed in a high profile match for SE.

Talking about tactics etc is another topic. But Nigeria deserves a better keeper than Akpeyi. We are bigger than that. I know we have that keeper if we give them a chance. Akpeyi is not even feared in South Africa, where he plays. Are u kidding me?

Which of our keepers is feared? Even Ikeme was just recently promoted as Wolves first keeper. He used to be Wayne hennesey's Lieutenant for a good number of years till Wayne left for Crystal Palace. HE is not considered one of the best in the Championship.
Abi Vincente Enyeama? he has been laid off by Lille as things stand.HE is surplus to requirements to Bielsa.

To be honest, sometimes I don't understand our big time charly attitude. We have to come down from our high horse and face reality.

Joebie:
Lol lets not crucify Akpeyi. He was not the SOLE reason for the loss. However, I've never been confident in him. He could be the SOLE reason tomorrow. He is not reliable enough. Simple. For those who love him to be between the sticks, watch as he will be fizzled out very soon. Lol

I am not of the opinion that Akpeyi is a world class goalkeeper. I cant delude myself into believing that. I think hes an OK keeper, I mean look at his record when he played in the npfl, he was one of the best we had in the league. I recall he was Heartlands !st choice goalkeeper during their run to the finals of the champions league. He was pretty solid alongside Ike Thankgod and Chinedu Effugh at the back. Ezennwa was his number 2 at the time.

If he was as bad a goalkeeper as you all are making him out to be, I wonder how he managed to get to this level. Most of the Npfl goalkeepers can only dream of getting their team to the caf champions league finals.

Even if we must crucify him, lets wait until such a time he does that rather than cook up false accusations just to nail him.

Shorunmu have said something about this guy and trust me, IKe shorumu knows him very well from his days as a national team trainer.

TheGoodJoe:
I repeat. Irrespective of club, position in club or experience. Using not playing competitive football is bringing in bias. If a player plays competitive football week in week out and one on the bench is better, then, we pick the better one.

All these other option than selecting the best is to bring in bias. Bring Emma Daniel to camp, if he flops in camp drop him. If he outshines the others play him.

Finish. Very simple.

I dont know if youre saying this just for banter sake or you just made this statement for the shock value, but whichever one it is, clearly it not one of your better finest comments. I cant believe you would want to trust a guy who is allien to this level to man the post in such a big game knowing fully well he haven't seen proper league action for a 1yr. Is the super eagles that joke of a team which every Tom, D*** and Harry is invited to come try out??
This was how we nearly capped a fella from the English 7th division.

If Ghana and South Africans call us super chickens ,you will be offended but look at what you just typed. Honestly speaking, I will rather goto war with Dele Aiyenugba who played more than 32games for his Isreali team last year (i think hes the captain of the team) than this desperate move for Emma Daniel.

Icon4s:
@ your last paragraph. The real reason is he wants Alampasu to be in goal. Thats all. And you know how far this my pal can go to defend the interest of any player he loves.

TheGoodJoe come beat me I dey my house. Lozz!

I honestly don't believe goalkeeper is our biggest problem. I am more interested in the outfield playing personnel and strategy. I really have sympathy for Akpeyi,its unfortunate people have made up their minds about him and there's no going back for them.

Rohr seems to be the kind of manager who pays attention to psychology, which explained why he dropped Omeruo. I guess the new Gk trainer was brought in to psych up the GKs, especially since Nigerians have opted to run them down for reasons best known to them.

If Akpeyi proves his nerves are made of steel, then he starts.
As simple as that.

People clamouring for Emmanuel Daniel are misinformed. That guy have not played competitive football for about 1 year. It will be a joke if the Nff invite an unproven, inactive keeper for our biggest game of the year.

TheGoodJoe:
Long story. Simple, Akpeyi made the wrong choice not to take the South African down. What concern Ikeme in this one?

Ikeme against Egypt in Kaduna. You know, against Salah at the last moment in the game, one on one like Akpeyi etc? You seriously don't remember? Selective memory perhaps?

TheGoodJoe:
You have received the answer, but still want to argue. Akpeyi made the wrong choice of not taking down the player and getting sent off. One nil down and we are still in the game.

With 3 mins left on the clock you expect magic when we couldn't hit a shot on target all game long?

Are you seriously trying to make me belive that you haven't witnessed a team conceeding a goal towards the end of a gear while they go in search for an equaliser?
The same scenario played out. Dont know why Akepyi is being held responsible while nobody held Ikeme responsible, same scenario.

I wonder why nobody blamed Ikeme for the goal Egypt scored in Kaduna. It was almost the same scenario we had with Mo' Salah. Why didn't Ikeme come out and collect red? Akepyi even managed to come out and challenge but Ikeme sat on his arse.

Unless you guys have a beef outside football with Akpeyi which I don't know about. Its mental to hold him response for that goal.

Icon4s:
Also the midfield and defense.

I'm sure he's not happy with himself too. Made the wrong gamble and it blew up right in his face.

soetanoreoluwa:
In my humble opinion we should get team psychology and new goalkeeper trainer which NFF have now... Bad goal keeper can be the best , is about believing in them and not make feel bad as if their the worst keeper in the world

Could remember Vincent enyema back then in enyimba he's not the best back especially penalty area... We have ejide doing us proud abroad and chance we re given to Vincent repeatedly...


Remember 2002 2004 nation cup.. Do you still remember our semi final match against CIV? Where we re beaten by alone goal by CIV goal scored by drogba.. Check the goal and check second goal of SA


Who was in goal At that moment almighty Vincent...

We should stop blaming players we all have bad days


We should remember bravo, and fmr Barça goalie. .. Could not remember his name now... They are have worst moment... What of Joe Hart?


We should psyche them up and believe in them... Yes he's not the best we have but we cant just change the whole team at this moment of the competition cos we need a replacement, that's one of the reason we lost sa match... We should keep inviting everyone to the team...


Everybody keeps giving instance of 2002 world cup... Where young Vincent man the post but we have forgotten that we re out of the competition at that moment... If we qualify Now yes we can experiment with other players but now... We should stick with our warriors...


Thanks

This is the best post I've seen so far about this goalkeeper issue.
I have asked a question in the past which nobody could answer me. I asked if Enyeama, Rufai or Ikeme was in goal against SA, which one of them could have stopped that 2nd goal?

I'm not saying Akpeyi is the best goalkeeper in the world but blaming him for those goals or for the defeat against SA is like giving a dog a bad name just to kill it.

TheGoodJoe:
Enyeama was the best among our selected keeper. His bad side was his penalties. With time and working with Ike Shorunmu, his reflexes became top notch. No one is against keepers having occasional errors. The problem is when a clearly weaker keeper gets the nod ahead of keepers better than him.

Akpeyi was a calamity waiting to happen. He only got the nod based on experience and not quality.

Enyeama was not just bad at penalties. He was very poor at crosses. I guess his height was a deterring factor. He has improved on this area but you can still see he labours when dealing with crosses.

TheGoodJoe:
From reports, Rohr is not satisfied with the goalkeeping department. At least we Ave seen my point on relying on just experience to select a goalkeeper. It is absolutely not a right working pattern.

Rohr also sees the keeper training section do not know what they are doing. Sad Agu got into that position after the bias selection that brought in an amateurish Sunday Oliseh. I wish The sacking axe fell in Agu along with Sunday Oliseh. Glad a foreign goalkeeping trainer is there to help us have a little less of the bias in that section.

And please enough of this experience talk. Select who is better.

He's not happy with the attacking department too. Lol

Just a reminder to those calling for Ike Shorunmu to take over from Alloy, as if Ike Shorunmu have a special supermarket where he will picks up goalkeepers.
Yes he said Akpeyi wasn't at fault for the goals against SA. I will be hard convinced that anyone who blamed Akpeyi for those goals have actually played football beyond monkey post.
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Ikeme: Shorunmu warns Rohr over Enyeama, backs Akpeyi

[img]http://punchng.com/ikeme-shorunmu-warns-rohr-over-enyeama-backs-akpeyi[/img]


Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu says Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr should not get stampeded into any hasty decisions on Carl Ikeme ’ s replacement in the national team .
Wolves goalkeeper Ikeme is undergoing treatment after being diagnosed with acute leukaemia on Thursday .
As the 31 - year- old Nigeria first choice keeper faces a long spell out as he fights the disease , his replacement in the Eagles has become the subject of heated debate in town .
And former Eagles’ goalkeeping coach Shorunmu warns Rohr he should be very careful while making his decisions on the issue .
The 2000 Africa Cup of Nations silver medallist believes keepers Daniel Akpeyi , Dele Alampasu and Ikechukwu Ezenwa are good enough for starting roles in the Eagles.
Shorunmu said former team ’ s first choice Vincent Enyeama should not be pressured to come out of his international retirement , saying the unsettled Lille custodian should be allowed to decide if he wants to return to the national team .
“ Rohr shouldn ’t bring in a keeper who has not been part of the team as some people are suggesting , he must be very careful while making his decisions , ” the former Besiktas star , who represented Nigeria at the Korea / Japan 2002 World Cup , told our correspondent on the telephone on Monday .
“ Akpeyi , Alampasu and Ezenwa are good keepers, and we should believe in them .
“ We can boost their confidence by believing in them and encouraging them to succeed .
“ Rohr can pick of them as Ikeme ’ s replacement .”
He disagreed with football pundits and commentators who have called for Rohr to omit Akpeyi from his squad for the Russia 2018 World Cup qualifying double - header against Cameroon following his poor performance in the 2 - 0 defeat handed the Eagles by South Africa in their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Uyo on June 10 . The former Stationery Stores keeper insisted that the Chippa United shot - stopper has the quality to replace Ikeme .
Shorunmu said , “ Akpeyi shouldn ’t be blamed for our defeat by South Africa . We lost the game because we didn’ t play our full team .
“ He was right to come out of his line in an attempt to stop the second goal . It was the best decision, but unfortunately he couldn ’ t prevent the goal .”
The former Switzerland - based keeper added , “ Rohr should not allow people to put him under pressure to invite Enyeama .
“ Enyeama is still good but Rohr should be very careful. He should allow Enyeama to decide if he wants to return to the team .
“ Enyeama knows why he decided to retire from the national team . He understands his body better than anyone else .
“ After the 2002 World Cup , I was under pressure to return to the national team but I said no . I know why I took the decision.
“ The coach should allow invite a new keeper to the team to learn . It will be a big mistake to abandon the keepers who have experience for someone who has not played top - level football. ”

http://punchng.com/ikeme-shorunmu-warns-rohr-over-enyeama-backs-akpeyi/

BascoVanVeli:
First off I don't blame any Aba made jersey wearer because the authentic ones are super expensive. This is why I advocated for an unknown brand that could be affordable for Nigerians. As for the friendlies, u would be surprised the amount of people across the world that fancy the super eagles. The problem is in the planning. We don't promote these matches we just show up and expect people to be there waiting. I remember the super 4 that had Manu Garba and Samson Siasia's team. The stadium was completely empty and the story that came out was that nobody knew this was even taking place. U can't blame people who have been kept in the dark. Do u think CONMEBOL is funding Brazil and Argentina? If so why does Messi have to pick up his federation's tab? A country the size of Nigeria should never have to depend on CAF or any other region giving us anything.

TBH I am writing China off from winning the world cup. China winning a world cup would be like Djibouti winning an AFCON. In fact I am willing to add that South Sudan will win an AFCON before China win's the world cup lol. All jokes aside China cannot just buy a few players and then get better than countries with solid players. In China u can only have 3 foreign players on the field at one time, I don't think they will improve so much.

Unfortunately those expensive jerseys are the real ones straight from the Nike store. The one's Nike will make sales and profit from. If they can't sell those jerseys since its expensive, why should they pay premium prize for shirt endorsement?

Talking about friendlies, the truth is that gate takings is not enough to cover overhead costs. You maybe shocked to hear this, but the truth is that gate takings is not enough to pay for players match allowance and accommodations. The average gate fee for Super Eagles games is about 500 while the players take earn an allowance of $5-10K. However you like to market the games, you can't depend on gate fee to run a team or a federation.

The whole deal I'm talking about is how it will benefit the entire continent. Nigeria is not the only country in Africa. If Nigeria is struggling like this, one can only imagine what countries like Malawi, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Mozambique etc will be going through.

By the way the Messi example doesn't fit in here. It was just a one time thing. Can't be compared to George Weah personally financing the entire world cup campaign of Liberia. I'm talking about paying players match allowance, transportation and other logistics. This is the reality many African countries have to deal with. Look at Niger, they couldn't even afford to enter a bus and drive down to Nigeria to honour an AFCON qualifier.

BascoVanVeli:
People don't just tune in to watch top leagues because the players are good. The atmosphere has a lot to do with the selling of the product. No company no matter how rich would invest one naira into the premier league if there were no passionate fans in the stands. Where will the passion for the AFCON come from when u want to host it miles and miles away? Who are we expecting to be in the stands? We can exhaust the ready countries and then move on to cohosting.

Let China qualify for a world cup first. Africa does not need anything drastic. The problem is laziness, football in Africa is so used to government hand outs or intervention that there is no room to be innovative. Nigeria for example should be cashing in on all our young stars in the making that the whole world wants to see. The NFF should sell exclusive rights to all their friendlies and heighten their visibility. Countries can't depend so much on CAF. If our federations learn how to plan ahead and adhere then I don't see any reason why one of us can't lift the cup.

You know what you're saying is far from what is on ground.
The reality is that African countries apart from the North Africans and maybe SA do not attract good corporate sponsorship,this is very clear.
Even kit sponsorship deals between Africa and major brands like Nike and addidas are nothing to write home about. You cannot blame the kit makers because they want to make money and Africa don't have such market to patronise them. We prefer made in Aba Jersey than the real ones, so why will they put in top dollar to sponsor us? Will a white man in Germany buy Nigerian Jersey?

How much do you think can be generated for image rights from African friendly games? If a company acquires image rights to broadcast Nigeria vs Senegal game in London for £10M, do you think they can recoup that amount and make profit from pay per view TV? We overrrate ourselves alot. Do you think Europeans bother if Nigeria is playing Senegal?

The only institution that can generate mega money for Africa football is CAF. Imagine if they can sell their TV right for $3 B for a 5 year period (which is a far cry from what the premiership is getting). We are talking about $50M+ earning for each African country added with what they can generate themselves. That is what we are talking about.
If maybe a Uganda can get this kind of money and invest in youth development and capacity building you can imagine how far they will come.

The practical solution to getting this sort of endorsements is by affiliating with the gulf countries. It is very simple.

On China, they are improving tremendously. They a have qualified for the World Cup before. I think they played in the world cup before Nigeria qualified (I maybe wrong). You're not saying they won't qualify for the World Cup with the current expansion as we have after investing billions? Come on.
This right off attitude was what cost us that South African match. We didn't want to hear the South Africans were improving. We still brag our shoulders that they are our wife, just like we did before Ghana made a mess of us in that famous Craven cottage friendly.

What I'm saying is that China shouldn't be written off. They have a serious project there. Europe and the rest of the world are concerned with the Chinese project, while Afrikans are waving them aside. What a paradox.

Joebie:
We are still waiting for England to win the WC. Japan or South Korea will win it before Chjna dreams of it. You can read between the lines.

Modified.
When it comes to the World Cup, you can wear a pig lipstick but it won't change it. Some countries don't just cut it. Yes having a good league and good development structure is important, but some countries will have these but will still wait centuries to win the mundial.

I appreciate your points but the truth is that what the Chinese are doing cannot be compared with what these countries you listed attempted.

If it was a sexual escaped, it will be considered very dry and apologetic if you try to connect what the Koreans and Japanese attempted with that of China.

The case of England is like that of the famous under achieving Spain and Portugal. Their time to shine will come.

BascoVanVeli:
U are missing the point. The NBA and NFL are doing these countries a service. This has nothing to do with what u are saying, this is a traditional practice in America. Even the Harlem Globetrotters did exhibitions outside America back in the day. MLB just played in Cuba not too long ago. They are not doing this for lack of stadiums or funds.

China can't win the AFCON right now not to talk of WC. Africa will soon be there very soon. We have the players to compete at the highest level.

Bringing the gulf countries in will increase the number of countries who can actually host the thing. Apart from South Africa, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia, no other African country can conviently host the tournament. We are talking about a 2 year interval between two tournaments.
There's no shame in accepting the reality on ground. Cameroun are toiling already just to host the next one.

Football have gone beyond kick and follow. We are talking about various aspects of the game African countries have not even started developing.

Talk about sports science, technology and what have you. China have already invested billions to this. The project in China is already attracting the best across the globe. Just take a lost at all the coaches working in China. We are talking about 2 World Cup winners and dozens of championship winning managers.
The Chinese players don't need to go to Europe, Europe is coming to them. After looking at how far their project have come in just a few years, one wonder what could be in the offing in the future. I haven't even talked about Chinese buisness men buying top European clubs, the implications is that you may see Chinese teams play in the Champions league in the future. This can easily happen since they are gradually gaining the voting power by acquiring those clubs

You may say this is just about league football, but it is not. Everything is heading towards winning the World Cup. Every world cup winning country have a good league at home.
There is a method to their madness. If Africa cannot explore options on the table to inject more money into the game here, no prayers or juju can make us win the World Cup. Not with events unfolding across the globe.

China are building capacity to go one better than South Korea. What is the African project if I should ask? Prayers?

Joebie:
That's not a solution to countries who choose not to move forward. There are 52 countries in Africa for God sake. At least 10 are capable of rotating as hosts of AFCON if the others choose to remain behind.. Nigeria should have at least 8 standard stadia only if we have a good maintenance culture.. so the problem is really a self-inflicting one.. We ship our entertainment jobs abroad.. we patronize everything abroad. now our only beloved sports some are asking we ship away. We cannot hide behind globalization to conceal our backwardness.

How about we go back to the real issues and get serious about demanding our leaders do their jobs..

My suggestion is not solely based on hosting but participation. Those Gulf countries have money and the glitz and glamour the AFCON will have with their participation will increase sponsorship and TV money.
We have to get real. Having Djibouti and Swaziland play against themselves in an AFCON game in Angola is not attractive enough for good sponsorship.

By the way, you do realise that hosting is beyond just having stadia. You have to think about logistics, transportation, accommodation, electricity,
Some journalists who covered the last 2 AFCONs complained of lacking decent accommodation. And we are talking about just a 16 team championship, what will happen when it is stretched to 24?

Thia could be a bit out of line but I recall Nigeria withdrew their bid to host the world cup in 2010 because of lacking infrastructure to host the tournament. For instance, for a city to qualify as a host city for the World Cup she must have at least 15k hotel rooms. Ask yourself, which city throughout the length and breth of Nigeria can boost of having decent 15k hotel rooms?

BascoVanVeli:
NFL matches have been played in London for a while now. The NBA was also played in Mexico and had an exhibition match in South Africa.
All this is fine and dandy for them because who else plays these sports as well as them? They are spreading the message of their sport. They are not relying on monies made. Real Madrid and Barca have solid basketball teams with great followership but my brother u won't hear the NBA adding them anytime soon. U can even argue that Nigeria did the same thing when we went to England and France. CAF does not have to soil the tournament all in the interest of money.

Na u go dey wait tey tey for an NBA game in Lagos.

Time is transient. Everything evolves with time. Before they played NBA games in London, they first played exhibition games to test waters just like they did in South Africa. Be rest assured in a couple of years sole real life NBA action will be played in Sun City.

It's not sustainable to continue with the derisory pittance Caf generates and shares to member countries. Not with the massive investment of resources being witnessed in European football and CHINA! (I stressed China because they will the world cup before any African team, you can take it to the bank).

We don't stand any chance beating these guys to the world title. Not with the money and infrastructure they have. That is the hard truth.

Either we find ways of generating more money or status quo remains. As simple as that.

BascoVanVeli:
First it was a billion dollars. Second I was not celebrating. The fact is that bringing Asian teams into AFCON will not change anything. The deal is already done and dusted, the monies CAF will get is already set in stone. The only people who will make anything extra will be the TV people not CAF. Even if EPL brings barca and real into their league, their money will remain the same.

The only thing that might be gained would be facilities but we have not yet exhausted Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, South Africa and even Nigeria. This is an opportunity improve things in Africa, going that route will only cover up the issue. What happen when the Asian teams don't want to host again and we still don't have facilities in Africa.

We need to use this as a tool to work on the continent. Sure most can't host by themselves but they can co-host. This can enable unity in the continent with countries working hand in hand.

Africa has enough teams to fill up 24 slots, we don't need to follow that route

$250M for 8years,$ 1 Billion for 12years these are the two contradicting reports I am seeing. But whichever one it is,still very poor for a whole continent to share.

We can't sit down one place and Mark time. In 2020, we could see some Premier league games played in Asia. London hosted a few NBA games last year. I hear the Nfl is exploring options to play Nfl games outside the USA.

Other people are exploring the options of taking their game outside their own shores. While in Africa zwe are still holding on to our ethnocentric, false pan afrikanism.

Dey here. They go soon bring NBA games down to Lagos.

BascoVanVeli:
U are forgetting that CAF just signed a new tv contract. In fact countries and clubs will start receiving money from CAF every year. The only thing that was in the way of CAF was the EPL and now that is gone. Messi has had to fund Argentina so this is not a new phenomenon in world football. Look at Madagascar who all of a Sudden are making waves, we can't lock these countries out all in the name of money.

You're seriously celebrating that mediocre deal they signed? About 53 member nation in Africa will share $250 Million dollars over a period of 8 years. When you compare with the Epl TV right deal which is in excess of £5 Billion for just a 3 year period, you will see how they sold themseleves short in that slavish 8year deal.

You can't play down the influence having more money can do for member nations. Even those who don't qualify for the competition will get money to develop the game in their countries. The AFCON as it is cannot prepare a team adequately to challenge the world at the world cup.
Have in mind that 4 or 5 more teams will still qualify if they go with this proposal. That's 4-5 more cindarella story for you.

Africa football will benefit more with more money than having 10 extra tourist teams at the AFCON.

Joebie:
Ur last sentence though -- staging AFCON outside Africa. Does that even make sense?

The demograph of our North African brothers and say Bahrain are basically the same. Humans carved out barriers for themselves.
Australia is not an Asian country but they chose to be part of the Asian Federation.
Having you asked yourself why Isreal is playing in the Uefa champions league when they are located in the middle East. They even hosted a European U21 championship some years ago.

Morocco are presently a member of Ecowas.

Frontiers are being expanded my good friend.

BascoVanVeli:
Other federations partner because they don't have enough countries but we have more than enough. What about the chance that one of these Asian countries win the cup? Taking a Rwanda out of the AFCON would steal away the chances of a Cinderella story.

Presently, Caf have very low TV viewership, low prize money, poor branding, all these are not likely to change.

Having countries like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE playing in the AFCON will strengthen the competition commercially and other otherwise. We need to raise the standard and profile of the competition. It's not like your Rwandas and Djiboutis can't qualify. Africa will still present 20 or 21 teams.

We have to be creative. AN AFCON with those stranded African countries who can't afford to sponsor their teams through the qualifiers (remember Niger? Adebayor single handedly sponsored Togo through the qualifiers etc) is not commercially viable and makes no sense.
I doubt anyone can prove me wrong or convince me otherwise.

BascoVanVeli:
Africa Cup of Nations expansion and move to summer ratified by CAF



KweséESPN

ESPN.com | 7:29 AM FJT




The Confederation of African Football have confirmed that the executive committee has passed a resolution to expand the Africa Cup of Nations from 16 teams to 24 and shift the biennial tournament to summer.

CAF opted to switch the continental showpiece from January-February to June-July, although the tournament will still take place every two years, rather than moving to a four-year schedule.

A statement published on the confederation's website, following the two-day CAF Symposium in Skhirat, near Rabat, confirmed the tournament expansion and dismissed any suggestion that the competition would take place outside of Africa, as had been proposed during the summit.

The summer switch eradicates a long-standing problem between CAF and European clubs unhappy with losing many of their African players for a month of the season every other year.

Similarly, while CAF's inter-club competitions -- the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup -- will not be expanded again, the confederation have decided to shift them to an August-May calendar, rather than inside a single calendar year.

This change further brings African football in line with the European game, although various questions remain unanswered from the symposium, with many of the continent's nations unable to boast the infrastructure to host 16-team Nations Cups, let alone an expanded 24-team tournament.

Elsewhere, CAF confirmed that the working group had decided to increase indemnities to referees, organise zonal Nations Cup qualifiers for the tournament at age-grade levels, and improve international partnerships and relations between CAF, its member associations, national governments and the African Union.

CAF should seek for strategic partnership with Arab Gulf Federation. The partnership should be so packaged to have 4 teams from that Federation participate in the Afcon. This partnership will benefit both parties ,with the Gulf countries getting the benefit to play against top African oppositions which will develop their football, while CAF benefit from more TV money and sponsorship from those Arabian money bags and companies.

We have seen the South American federation partner with CONCACAF and teams like Mexico and Honduras played in the Copa America.

Interregional partnership is the way forward.

This partnership could even be extended to club competition. Imagine a Caf champions league featuring teams from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The viewer-ship and sponsorship generated will see the present chewing gum money on the table as prize money for the winners of the competition reviewed upwords to meet a resemblance of what is obtainable in competitions of such magnitude in other climes. Its a shame winners of the PSL get nearly 10 folds of what winners of the CAf champions league take home.

An expanded Afcon with featuring teams like Djibouti,Tanzania, Gambia and Rwanda will just be another boring thing on tv. Interregional partnership is the way to go. Even if it means th Afcon being played outside the continent, so be it.

TheGoodJoe:
No one wants to kill Akpeyi. It was you who tried to make it look as if fouling the South African was wrong. That was the right option. You can say he tried but do not make it look like if Akpeyi was not to take down the man. From my view the keeper did not do enough.

Dont pretend like you dont know Akpeyi is being made the fall guy from that game.Someone who didn't watch the game will erroneously think he scored own goals. I'm just saying for the record, Akpeyi was not the reason we lost, he didnt score an own goal,the South Africans didn't score through his legs, the ball didnt slip through his fingers and into the net. His only sin was that he didnt hack down a player running at full speed and collect a red card, while we were already a goal down with 3 minutes left on the clock (we have exhausted our substitutions at this point).

Trying to leave out Ndidi,kelechi,Iwobi,Awaziem,Ekong,Shehu,Echejile,Etebo and to an extent Onazi of any blame and aim digs at Akpeyi, shows weakness and insincerity.

I know some spread sheet fans will come for my head for saying this, but I dont mind. I will always blow my whistle.

TheGoodJoe:
Icon79 is right in this instance. It would have made more sense for Akpeyi to foul the South African and collect the red card to keep us in the game than allow him run free to get the knockout goal.

This is plain football sense, not chopping head off.

He did his best. If you rewatch that incident, you will find out that the South African guy was extremely fast,a substitute with fresh pair of legs.
Akpeyi actually tried to foul him but he was just too fast. As a matter of fact, Akepyi or no Akpeyi, 98% of goalkeepers in the world wouldn't stand any chance whatsoever in catching South African guy in such senerio..

What peplexis me is why Nigerians want to kill Akpeyi because he didn't go all the way to hack down the South African. Since I started following football, this will be the first time I have witnessed a player getting so much stick for not hacking someone down illegally.

Icon79:
Actually, the goalkeeper has some blame on both goals (not all the blames but some of them) especially on the second goal.

First he hesitated before coming out to challenge the SA player. And once you come out, as the last man in the defense, you should allow the player any free pass ... he should've fouled the player even if it means taking a red card (for denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity) for the team. The game was almost over, we can play with the 10 men for the rest of the game....just let SA take a free kick instead of scoring into an empty net.


O pari

You want to chop off Akpeyi's head for failing to make a clearance just few centimeters from half way line. If Vincente Enyeama or Kal Ikeme was in goal, can you bet your house that they would have been able to make such clearance at the half way line?
Oh you want to punish him for not diving in to make a rugby tackle to stop the opponent ? Its just like wishing for defenders to break Lionel Messi's leg to stop him from scoring. Do you know what fair play means?

I agree Akpeyi's ball handling fell short. I saw him drop a couple of balls carelessly, but to blame him for those goals is tantamount to giving a dog a bad name just to hang it.

TheGoodJoe:
Was Iheanacho given accurate through balls? Answer yes or no.

Why dont you give a call to veterans like John Mastroudes, Disu even the SA coach, to name but a few and ask them if he was given a through ball or not.