Sports
Mixed Reactions Trail Messi’s Emergence As World Best
Soccer fans in Nigeria have expressed mixed reactions to the emergence of Lionel Messi as the Best Player of the World for the second consecutive year.
The Barcelona striker was voted the FIFA Ballon d’Or on Monday in Zurich, Switzerland.
The Argetine beat his Spanish club team mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez to clinch the crown.
While Barcelona fans are happy that Messi won the award, others are questioning his emergence, particularly as he failed to sparkle at the World Cup and ouster of Argentina in the quarter-finals in June in South Africa.
Former Rangers International player, Arthur Nwankwo, in Awka wondered why Messi should win the award when he failed to score at the World Cup following the early exit of his country in the competition.
“Since it is a World Cup year, I just do not know why Messi should be chosen ahead of those that performed well at both club and World Cup in South Africa.
“What do you say of the accuracy of Xavi Henandez and his consistent passes that earned him a double. His team, FC Barcelona won the league, FA Cup and Spain his country also won the World Cup,” said Nwankwo.
From Aba, two members of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Mike Umeh and Felix Anyasi, said Messi deserved to win the award.
Anyansi, who is the Chairman of Enyimba FC, said.
“It’s an award well deserved,” and noted that his consistency for club and country earned him the award.
“He has become a role model to many who watched him play at the club and the Argentina national team.”
He, however, expressed regrets that no African player had won award after Liberia’s George Weah clinched the award in 1995.
He noted that many African players, including Samuel Etoo of Cameroon and Didier Drogba of Cote d’Ivoire, had performed creditably for their respective countries and clubs to deserve the award.
Umeh said that Messi’s scintillating skill gave him the award.
“The young man improves with each game, which helped Barca to be among the best teams in the world,’’ he said.
The Chairman of the Ebonyi FA, Obinna Ogba, told our source that Messi took soccer entertainment to an art form in 2010, especially with Barcelona “as his contributions ensured that the club excelled in club competitions.
“Though Argentina flopped at the World Cup in South Africa, he was the only bright spot in the team which showed his immense talent,” he said.
A governorship aspirant on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Adol Awam, described the award as a gain of youth development in football.
“At 23, Messi had shown with his exploits that if adequately nurtured, the future of football in the world lies with the youths,” said.
Vincent Okpalaka, former Enugu Rangers International FC defender, said the award was previously won by players who excelled during the World Cup year and expressed surprise Monday’s award did follow the criteria.
“Players who held the world spell bound at the World Cup in South Africa, such as Diego Forlan of Uruguay, Wesley Sneidger of Holland among others, were not even nominated for the award,” Okpalaka said.
A female youth activist, said it was a wake-up call to soccer authorities in Africa to develop football to ensure players from the continent were short-listed for future awards.
Football fans were seen arguing among themselves at newspaper stands in Onitsha.
They said FIFA should be consistent in giving the award to players whose national teams won the World Cup.
John Obosi, a football analyst, with Contact Sports newspaper, said that there was no need in arguing over whether Messi deserved the award or not.
“It was done by national team coaches selected around the World which clearly shows that FIFA had no hand in the decision,” Obosi said.
Osita Unachukwu, Anambra Pillar FC Secretary, said that he least expected somebody such as Messi to be given the World Footballer of 2010.
“There is sometime amiss; if not, the tradition should have continued. I can see some politics in the whole show,” Unachukwu said.
Ike Okeke, an ardent fan of Barcelona FC, said that Messi had made an indelible mark in all the matches he played for his club in 2010.
“For me, Messi has no rival, he deserves the award; and his outstanding performance had improved the game in 2010.
“He has dwarfed other efforts made by the other players at the World Cup in South Africa,” said Okeke.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.