26012020 - How bad an example was set in Zamfara

46 — SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 26, 2020
National Sports Festival:
Edo should not
be hosting to
win – Izilein
•Says I should not be
punished for Falcons protest
•Local coaches should not be
relegated
Godwin Izilein, having served in various coaching
capacities with the Golden Eagles and Super
Falcons is eminently qualified to comment on sporting
issues and in this interview with JOHN EGBOKHAN, the
AWCON winner opens up on the injustice he is facing
and why Edo State should forget the idea of hosting to
win the National Sports Festival.
I saw you at the Annual
General Meeting of the
Nigeria Football Federation in
Benin City. What was your
mission there?
Ans: I went there not as an
invited personality, I do not
want to be seen as an interloper
but because some of my friends
were there and I felt that I
should make out time to come
and see few friends like Bitrus
Bewerang. I saw them, They
were busy and we later met the
following day.
What are you presently
doing in Edo State.
Briefly, I was with the female
team for one season. I am out
of that place now, I am a
consultant to about four
youth teams. It’s not
the money that really
matters but my
interest in the game
is genuine and
unfailing. I am still
strong enough to
impact my
knowledge
to them
and
they
are
very
happy
to
have
•Oshoala
me around them.
And then again, I am
interested in supporting the
team that will be competing in
the forthcoming National
Sports Festival, Edo 2022 in
Benin City. We have the female
team that will participate in the
competition and I have told
them what we should do to get
prepared for the festival and
not just to win but to do well.
Do you really think that Edo
can do well at the forthcoming
National Sports Festival or are
we hosting to win the Games
starting in March?
I am not going for that. I
think we should host to
participate fully, get the best
out of the athletes, not only
to represent Edo State but
to represent the nation.
That is the essence of
the National Sports
Festival. It is not about
hosting to win. That is a
ruse. I do not believe in
it.
Hosting to win is not
the essence of the
National Sports Festival. To
win at all cost without
adequate preparations leads to
teams doing a lot of untoward
things.
But again, the state is
working hard to make sure that
our participation is a
remarkable one. That is exactly
what I see them doing. Godwin
Dudu Orumen is around
working hard, the Deputy
Governor Philip Shaibu is fully
involved, the State Governor,
Godwin Obaseki is equally very
interested in it, so we would not
have cause to say there is no
money for us to prepare the
athletes of Edo State. I
think the athletes are
working hard and
tenaciously too, to
ensure success for
the state at the
festival.
Having previously coached
the Golden Eaglets and the
Super Falcons, which you
tinkered to success at the
African Women’s Nations Cup
•Izilein
in South Africa many years
ago, it is safe to say that you
recorded successes with these
teams but these days, such
successes are difficult to come
by, leading me to probe what
your thoughts are on these
teams at the World Cups,
where they crashed out in the
second round. Or do you think
Nigerians are overbearing in
their expectations from these
teams?
I think seriously that if we
want to be fair to everybody, we
start from the NFF, the
management, they were
burdened with crisis from the
first day they got elected. They
were not able to properly
manage these teams, even
though they did their best but it
was always going to be difficult
because of the many court cases
and battles they had to contend
with.
Sending the team out to go
and play is one thing but
managing them is another
matter entirely. Because of the
crisis they had at hand, trying
to defend themselves from
those spurious and frivolous
fraud and scam cases, it was
not unexpected that the teams
later suffered.
They were not
able to give the
utmost
attention to
them even
though they
gave the teams
all they needed
but those
negative vibes
affected the
teams.
So you are
absolving the
NFF of any
fault in the
teams poor
performances?
Yes. I cannot
blame them
because a head
that is not
settled would
A lot of
interested
parties were
unfairly
blaming the
NFF for a
problem,
which was not
a fault of
theirs
definitely not have the power or
ability to tend for the various
members of its body. A lot of
interested parties were unfairly
blaming the NFF for a
problem, which was not a fault
of theirs. They meant well for
the teams and that was why
they gave them the best of
preparations but what was
missing was the guidance,
monitoring and follow-up,
•Ordega
which
were
impossible
to achieve
under the hostile
environment they
operated in. A lot of
critics went after the NFF
for what was not their fault.
They were too hard on
them. It was most unfair.
They are still attacking
them, which is really
unnecessary.
And you feel that
now that the court
has thrown out the
corruption case
against NFF, its
President, Amaju
Pinnick and the
other accused top
executives, that
these attacks
should stop, having
been given a clean
bill of health by a
competent court of
legal jurisdiction?
But some persons
the other day came
out with another
frivolous
accusation against
the NFF. They said
that they are a
group of lawyers. I
don’t know what
their true motive is
because since the court has
given a verdict and the federal
government has withdrawn the
case against the NFF officers,
then I think the matter is over
and should be rested and never
raised again. This is so that we
can forge ahead and and not
have a repeat of what happened
not too long ago which ended
affecting our teams
performances at international
competitions. Like I pointed out
earlier, you can’t have crisis
without paying the price one
way or the other.
I heard that you were being
owed your Nations Cup
allowances from South Africa
since 2004. Have you been
paid by the NFF?
If I think of it, I would not
want to forgive this present
officials of NFF, particularly
President, Amaju Pinnick.
Amaju came to Benin about a
year ago to announce to the
government that they were
owing me and that they would
pay. But as I am talking to you
now, no kobo has been given
me. They promised but
nothing has been done.
I have been making
passionate entreaties
for them to pay but
nothing has
happened.
They paid my girls
and other members of
the team but refused to
pay me. I don’t know
why they have not paid
me. I was the one who
stopped the crisis in
South Africa from
escalating beyond the
point it got to. I was the
one who prevailed on the
girls not to go further
than what they did at the
tournament.
Pinnick came here and
gave his speech and there
was a standing ovation
for him but government is
yet to pay me my $12,
000. But I am telling
you as my younger
brother that I believe
they are saving the
money for me .
I will get the money
by the grace of God
because I worked for
it, I sweated for it. I
did my best for the
nation and won the
Cup for the country
and see no reason
why I should be
punished for
something I
know nothing
about.
As
someone
who has been
at the helm of two
national teams and
tinkered them to glorious
heights, what do you think
should be done to get our
teams back on winning ways?
We should create sixgeopolitical
sports zones in
order to properly identify,
groom and nurture athletes into
stars, who would now be
selected into the national
teams. We should involve
everybody and tap into the
wealth of experience of coaches
and athletes who are based
abroad for national
development.
So you are not against hiring
of foreigners to manage our
teams like the Super Falcons?
Not at all, especially if the
nation feels they can afford
them to manage our teams to
glory. But they should do this
without relegating the
indigenous coaches to the
background or making our own
coaches to feel unwanted and
insufficient. I am one of those
people who believe that if we
put the indigenous coaches
alongside the foreigners to
work together that we can
achieve greatness for our
national teams. There would be
transfer of knowledge from
both parties and the players
would be the biggest
beneficiaries on the long run.
That is the way to go and I hope
our administrators would stick
with this model of coaching
arrangement.