Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Melvin Amaju Pinnick has admitted he was disappointed with the poor results enacted by the country’s teams in last weekend’s opening round of continental club matches, megasportsarena.com reports.
Speaking against the backdrop of away defeats for Kano Pillars and Rivers United of Port Harcourt in the CAF Confederations Cup and a home loss for Plateau United of Jos in the CAF Champions League, while only Enyimba of Aba of won away in the elite competition, Pinnick acknowledged how shocking the line of results were for him.
He, however, enthused that there will be better results for all four clubs in thre reverse fixtures this weekend, while also affirming that the board of NFF will continue doing everything possible to ensure that the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL0 gets better with time.
He added worries over recent results garnered by the Super Eagles in home and away matches against Sierra Leone in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, but the former chairman of Delta State Football Federation and Delta State Sports Commission enthused that better days lie ahead for the country at club and national team levels.
While airing views on various issues affecting the round leather game in the country on his 50th birthday, Pinnick raised hope that all four of the nation’s continental campaigners will rise to the occasion this weekend and utilize the famed ‘Nigerian Spirit’ to turn the tables against their respective opponents and romp into the next stages of both competitions.
Pinnick, who was joined by many football big wigs in watching the game in Jos live, submitted: “I am very disappointed. In as much as we can point to the fact that the League has not started, there is something called the ‘Nigeria spirit’ and we expect teams flying Nigeria’s colours to have that in them.
“I am at a loss as to how Kano Pillars could be playing away from home, and they led their hosts, only to collapse to a 3-1 defeat. Nigerian teams should be made of sterner stuff. I commend Enyimba FC that won away against their opponents in Ouagadougou; that is the way to do it.
“My challenge to the other clubs is to turn things around in the return legs and qualify for the next rounds of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup competitions. This is something we talk about among ourselves every day.
“I mean, myself and colleagues on the NFF Board talk and toil on this but hurdles always come up. I believe we are getting out of the morass and there is light at the end of the tunnel that we can even see.
“Our prayer is that everything holds firm and we get things going smoothly as planned. The importance of the league being virile and attractive is not lost on any of us. Our vision remains building a sustainable football culture for our dear country.
“It is non-negotiable. We also are determined to improve football infrastructure and facilities both at national and regional levels, as can be seen in our passionate drive for FIFA projects across the country.
“We are equally committed to training and re-training, and enabling greater mass participation in the game of football, which is the single biggest unifier of all our peoples across several mental and physical divides.
“And also serves as robust lure for boys and girls away from all manner of social vices, not to talk of the international image-building component. We are also extremely passionate about developing the game at the grassroots.”
