Gabriel Chukwuma
By Chimezie Anaso
Gabriel Chukwuma, owner of the defunct Gabros International Football Club of Nnewi, says Nigerian football has not attained its potential height in spite of the foundation laid for the game.
Bad politics and selfishness have taken over in the mind of those administering the game as against altruism, and this is why Nigerian players are no longer in the top flight as it was in the past, he told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday.
He said there was the need for the type of spirit which made him found and run a football club successfully for 22 years without support from anybody or government.
Politics is what destroyed our football, and I can say the game has literarily died in Nigeria.
Unlike during our time when we were interested in how we can grow the game, how we can entertain the world, help the youth to make money, now what they are interested in is how much they can make from it.
These days, we dont have players who stay in the top flight for a long time in Europe.
Have we wondered why our players are no longer popular as they used to? It is because we dont have the right foundation again, he said.
Chukwuma called for a football structure which would accommodate players of all ages and allow for sustainable development.
He said such a structure should allow Nigerian players to enjoy a period of playing for long, as obtained in Europe and South America.
The former board member of the then Nigeria Football Association (NFA) said he set up Nnewi United FC later on against his initial plans to acquire a club in Switzerland.
He said this was to give more youths the opportunity to climb to stardom.
I managed a club for 22 years and we were in the premier league for seven years without support from government or any individual.
It was all from my personal money and the little I made from the club that we did all that. That is the type of spirit we need.
I did not make money in football, not because I didnt know how to go about it. But I wanted to help the young ones.
My joy is that many young men got a life from the platform Gabros International provided.
Nnewi United was another platform I later provided again for youths, to support the efforts of government.
Now, we are in the national league and we are not looking for promotion. Where we are is okay for us.
My happiness in those days then was in the fact that there was a day six Gabros International FC players were in the national team against another country.
But my regret is that the foundation we built then for a successful take-off of our football has now collapsed, he said. (NAN)
Source: NAN News