CAF competitions: We’ll provide necessary support for Nigerian clubs — NFF

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has assured Nigerian clubs participating in this year’s continental competitions of its full backing as they are set to battle clubs from other countries for continental glory.

While the duo of league champions Remo Stars of Ikenne and runners-up Rivers United of Port Harcourt will hoist Nigeria’s flag at the CAF Champions League (CAFCL), Abia Warriors of Aba and President FA Cup winners, Kwara United of Ilorin will represent the country at the CAF Confederation Cup (CAFCC).

Speaking exclusively with Sporting Tribune in Abuja, NFF Secretary General, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said though the football body has little or no control over the clubs as they are owned by state governments, he gave assurance that NFF will do all within its powers to help the clubs have a good outing when hostilities get underway at the prestigious competitions.

He said as a point of duty, the NFF will advise the clubs on what to do as it concerns signing of quality players and making sure that the welfare of the players are prioritised.

“The issue has always been that our hands are very tied because these clubs are either owned by the state governments or individuals, and the structure and the funding are also done by them. These are some of the ingredients that really determine success.

“We have only made it a duty to invite the clubs that have qualified for continental competitions to brief them on what the expectations are. But you can only take a horse to the river you cannot force it to drink.

“After briefing them, the onus now lies on them to make sure that they comply with what we’ve told them one of which is to make sure that they have quality players and motivate the players such that the players can give their very best in making sure that they represent the club very well.

“And of course, the logistics issue, the nitty-gritty of travelling, the visa and the rest of them are what we usually tell them. Apart from technical expertise, there are other extraneous variables that if they are not controlled, their effects can affect their techniques and tactics. Travel arrangements are part of it, training time is part of it, dieting is part of it, and looking for a visa is part of it. If you don’t do these things on time, you might also run into problems,” Sanusi said.

Also speaking on the FIFA Club professionalisation management programme, which was recently held in Abuja, the NFF scribe said the essence is for club managers and administrators to understand the nitty-gritty of club management as it relates to personnel needed and marketing strategies to be employed in order to make sure that the clubs can evolve.

Sanusi said the NFF is putting every machinery in motion to see that Nigerian players compete favourably with their counterparts around the globe, saying the country has a pool of talented players who can represent Nigeria at any major tournament in the world, like the FIFA Club World Cup currently going on in the United States of America.

“It is about club management strategy. And the essence is for the club managers to understand the dynamics of managing clubs in terms of the structure that is needed, the personnel that are needed and of course, the marketing strategies that need to be employed to make sure that the clubs become self-sustaining so that they will reduce over-dependence on government. We hope that (at the end of) the programme, there will be a change of attitude, there will be a change of approach by the administrators.

“You know club football is a very big business because now FIFA has come up with the Club World Cup which is going on in the United States, and four teams from four countries represented Africa, and unfortunately, Nigeria is not part of them.

“It’s not that we don’t have the players, it’s not that we don’t have the manpower, but we need to look at what we need to do so that we can be on the same pedestal with our counterparts around the world. And I believe this kind of training is capable of doing that. And we hope that the training will provide our sports managers with knowledge of how to manage the club and, of course, how to make it a profitable venture,” he added.

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