Sports
Toure Lashes Out At African Federations
Former Manchester City and Cote d’Ivoire midfielder Yaya Toure believes the African football federations did not do enough ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Toure implored African football leaders to pay heed to current and former footballers’ voices and also warned against making excuses.
The big midfielder was speaking after Senegal, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Nigeria failed to reach the knockout stages of the 2018 global showpiece recently staged in Russia.
Toure took an aim at African football federations attempting to justify their wrongs instead of confronting the problems affecting the game on the continent.
“Africa is definitely trying, but it would be both too easy and too dangerous to hide behind two yellow cards, and VAR is not necessarily favourable or convincing to explain the failure of African teams,” said Toure.
“Let’s stop making excuses. Africa must be aware that it cannot be a miracle every four years to try and believe that everything is better.
“We will change the coaches, believing that the solutions have been found. But this is a deception that has lasted so long in Africa. We prefer to blame a person rather than a system and organisation.
“Federations, mostly, are only ‘paperwork’ rather than setting up the conditions and basics of solid football. Who prevents the members of these African federations from seeing what happens, for example, in France or in Brazil? Not to find the new Neymar, but to look for solid structures.
“In Africa, we prefer to spend our time around the house, but we don’t get in there. We talk a lot, but nobody acts on the talk. Each time, there are good promises, but no action is followed on ideas. This is a real cacophony.”
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor