BY BARRISTER IYKE IGBOKWE
SLIDING TACKLES had earlier in its two articles on the most surprising and shocking appointment of Enyimba FC coach, Finidi George from the blues by the “Slow Motion” State FA Chairmen dominated Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Board titled – “FINIDI’S APPOINTMENT: NFF’S “REVENGE” AGAINST THE NATION’S REJECTION OF FOREIGN COACH” and “FINIDI’S APPOINTMENT: A “DESPERATE ATTEMPT” TO ELONGATE FOREIGN PLAYERS INVITATION RACKETEERING” dutifully exposed some highly critical reasons which formed the fundamental basis for the eventual decision of the State FA Chairmen dominated NFF Board in appointing coach Finidi George as the Coach of the Super Eagles.
SLIDING TACKLES tried to waddle through the highly covered intricate maze of the craftily weaved of unpatriotic intrigues that formed the nefarious plans of the NFF foreign players racketeering cabal to continue using the appointment of the Super Eagles coach as a platform to continue to defraud the nation and inflict serious damages on our football just for purely personal and selfish interests.
SLIDING TACKLES exposed that Coach Finidi George was appointed as the “Arrogant Revenge” against the Nigerian nation and its people for daring to have the audacious temerity to reject a foreign coach for the Super Eagles and demand for an indigenous coach which scuttled both their foreign coach salary kickback racket and the foreign players’ invitation To Super Eagles rackets.
So, to spite the entire nation including Mr. President and show Nigerians that they are in charge, the meddlesome interlopers of the State FA Chairmen dominated NFF Board had the brazen effrontery to appoint a coach for the Super Eagles who is not the best man for the job knowing full well who the best indigenous candidate for the Super Eagles coaching job fitted (Coach Emmanuel Amunike who the whole nation endorsed).
However, the most valuable Torchlight of SLIDING TACKLES was the exposure of the deadly “foreign players invitation racketeering” which is actually the bedrock of the entire reason to appoint a coach Finidi who only won the highly tainted Nigeria Premier League (NPFL) title ahead of another indigenous coach, Coach Amunike who has a FIFA World Cup trophy in his cabinet as well as the qualification of an unknown Tanzania to their first African Nations Cup in over 35 years.
As revealed by SLIDING TACKLES, the “foreign players’ invitation to Super Eagles racket” is a very big deal that rakes in a gross revenue of over one million dollars into the coffers of the racketeers. Yes, the wide rumour mills have it that most foreign players we imported to play for the Super Eagles at AFCON Cote d’Ivoire were paid 50, 000 dollars each for the invitation and opportunity to play for the Super Eagles in the AFCON. Many people also insisted that it was the failure of Real Soceidad star striker, Sadiq Umar to cough out the huge ransom that led to the concoction of the “fake injury” that was used to send Sadiq packing from the AFCON tournament.
And, the “foreign players invitation racketeering” continues with every subsequent Super Eagles international engagement; be it AFCON qualifiers, World Cup qualifiers or international FIFA window friendlies.
In the “foreign players’ invitation racketeering”, the strict policy is that any foreign player, who doesn’t pay the ransom, would not get an invitation to the Super Eagles. Or do we think that it was just a mere coincidence that our star goalkeeper, Stan Nwabali was just spotted miraculously and called up to the Super Eagles AFCON Squad at the dying minute just like that? No, something happened to make Nwabali’s sudden invitation possible. Otherwise, why didn’t they spot Nwabali since while he was keeping for Katsina United (his last club in Nigeria before he was transferred to Chippa United of South Africa)? The “Foreign Players invitation Racquet” is indeed a very Big Deal running into Billions per Major international Football Competition.
So, one will naturally expect that the State FA Chairmen dominated NFF Board racketeering cabal will not just stand hands akimbo and give in easily and without a Struggle on the Nation’s unanimous rejection of a foreign coach for the Super Eagles. The resistance of the ignoble and greedy cabal is what we just witnessed with the appointment of Coach Finidi who was not even a candidate of the Super Eagles coaching examination. Because, Finidi had been dropped earlier from the screening exercise of the Super Eagles coaches in both the shortlist of five coaches and the shortlist of three coaches by the NFF Technical Committee saddled with the specific duty of selecting a coach for the Super Eagles.
With the question on foreign coaches for the Super Eagles conclusively answered with the clear total and overwhelming rejection of the foreign coaches by Nigerians, the NFF foreign players invitation racketeers knew they needed to be smart to still go ahead and use the indigenous coaches who the nation clamoured for, to still continue their shameful racket at the expense of the nation and its football. The racketeer cabal knew also that the indigenous coach, the Nigerian people wanted was Coach Emmanuel Amunike who had won the FIFA World Cup before for the nation and took an African country to the AFCON Finals and is a member of the highly respected FIFA Technical Study Group would definitely not want to gamble and soil his hard earned integrity and records with the substandard foreign players of the devilish racket who won’t give him the desired results.
The State FA Chairmen dominated NFF Board Racketeering Special Team knew that Coach Amunike was a proponent of home-based players who he exhibited when he coached our U-17 national boys team (the Golden Eaglets). And spectacularly won the FIFA U17 World Cup against all expectations and odds with a bunch of unknown rookies among who is the current African Footballer of the Year, Victor Oshimen, the cabal knew Coach Amunike would play hard ball.
That was how Coach Finidi, who was the Assistant Coach of our former Coach Jose Peseiro, the man under whose tenure as Super Eagles Gaffer. The “foreign players’ invitation racketeers” business grew serious wings and blossomed highest, came into the picture after being evicted from the Super Eagles coaching race. And the choice of Coach Finidi fitted the plans of unpatriotic cabals as they had a ready reason for Finidi’s appointment based on the NPFL title he won with Enyimba, which feat, Finidi’s former Chairman who brought him to Enyimba, Felix Anyansi is still laying claim to.
Coach Finidi was among the coach with the least credentials among the over 30 coaches from all over the world that applied to coach the Super Eagles. So, why Coach Finidi for the Super Eagles job ahead of the other international coaches with far better credentials, experience and exposure?
The State FA Chairmen dominated NFF Board “foreign players’ invitation racketeer” cabal, chose “outsider” Finidi as the coach of the Super Eagles for these three reasons:
ONE: To spite on the faces of Mr. President and All Nigerians through arrogantly venting their anger against the patriotic overwhelming decision of football loving Nigerian people who totally rejected a foreign coach for the Super Eagles which was made based majorly on the sad economic situation of the country. The cabals therefore decided to revolt against the nation and its people by brazenly rejected the clear choice of the Nigerian people for the Super Eagles coaching job (Coach Amunike). And instead stubbornly appointed their own personal choice (Coach Finidi) to suit their selfish interests and also tell us that they (the racketeers) were in charge.
TWO: To continue to elongate and perpetuate the hegemony of the dastard and highly unenviable “foreign players invitation racketeers” through the appointment of an indigenous coach who will activate and enforce the seamless continuation of the highly profitable but ignoble ugly racket to the detriment of collective interest of the nation.
THREE : To act as an “ugly” silent set up and trap for the indigenous coaches who the cabals will use any failure on the part of Coach Finidi who the cabal chosen, to label as incompetent and incapable of coaching the Super Eagles. To give them the much sought opportunity to bring back the foreign coaches to continue their normal foreign players’ invitation racketeering which is sweetest under the foreign coach.
SLIDING TACKLES is therefore using this golden opportunity to direct the serious attention of Nigerians to this third ugly objective of the self centered greedy cabals on why the cabals left the obvious choice of Nigerians (Coach Amunike) with clear coaching track records of achievements and instead went for an unheralded coach in the world international football (Coach Finidi).
SLIDING TACKLES is sounding this loud alarm to Nigerians to let our people know that NFF racketeer mafia still wants a foreign coach and would go to any length to get the foreign coach back to our Super Eagles within the shortest possible time. This is because, the “foreign players invitation racket” is sure sweeter and smoother and more organized under the foreign coach who doesn’t live here in Nigeria with us and not easily accessible to Nigerians to ask questions on the invitation of players to the Super Eagles.
So, what the racketeers have smartly done by appointing the least qualified indigenous coach (Coach Finidi) as Super Eagles coach is that if Finidi fails, the cabals will use it as a readymade excuse to get rid of the indigenous coaches and ferry back the rejected foreign coaches to the Super Eagles.
So, the appointment of Coach Finidi against all bookmakers’ odds and permutations is …….
Barrister lyke lgbokwe (Torchlight of Nigeria Football) can be reached through WhatsApp: 09136715922
