By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
ACLSportsACLSportsACLSports
9
Notification Show More
NewsNWFLWomen's Football
Bayelsa Queens ramp up WAFU prep with friendly wins
1 day ago
#YourSportsMemoBlogsNewsSuper FalconsWomen's Football
WAFCON 2024 Semifinal Preview: Nigeria vs South Africa
1 day ago
#YourSportsMemoBlogsNewsSuper Falcons
WAFCON Diary Six: hotels, hot showers and suspicious pepper soup
1 day ago
CompetitionFootballNewsSuper Eagles
CAF GS Mosengo-Omba impressed by CHAN 2024 Readiness
1 day ago
Age-Group FootballFootballNews
U20WAFUB: Flying Eagles to battle Ivory Coast in final
2 days ago
BlogsGrassrootsNaijaheroesNews
All Africa Games 1999: host’s hostility and “God of TB Joshua”
3 days ago
BasketballCompetitionNews
FIBA U19 WWC: Junior D’Tigress finish 12th in historic debut
3 days ago
NewsWomen's Football
Fenerbahçe confirm Sabastine Flourish Chioma signing 
3 days ago
BlogsCompetitionNewsWomen's Football
WAFCON 2024 Semifinals: Powerhouses clash as line-up is confirmed
3 days ago
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • Football
  • Naijaheroes
  • Grassroots
  • Basketball
  • Athletics
  • News
  • More
    • Laughter, Leather & Losses
    • #YOURSPORTSMEMO Podcast
    • Blogs
    • Competition
Reading: Under-20 list: Nigeria’s lack of adequate database exposed
Share
Font ResizerAa
ACLSportsACLSports
Search
  • Home
  • Laughter, Leather & Losses
  • Football
  • Naijaheroes
  • Grassroots
  • Basketball
  • Athletics
  • News
  • #YourSportsMemo
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
ACLSports > Blog > Blogs > Under-20 list: Nigeria’s lack of adequate database exposed
BlogsFootballNews

Under-20 list: Nigeria’s lack of adequate database exposed

Fisayo Dairo
Last updated: February 24, 2018 2:34 pm
Fisayo Dairo
Published: February 24, 2018
Share
As featured on NewsNow: Sport news
Sport News 24/7 

Newly-appointed Nigeria Under-20 coach Paul Aigbogun on Friday executed his first piece of task in charge of the national side – the release of a list of players with whom he intends to prosecute the qualifying series of the 2019 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations.

How efficient or accurate was Aigbogun’s ‘first touch’ as the Flying Eagles handler? Our Chief Football Writer FISAYO DAIRO takes a look at the list and believes that the cankerworm that has masticated on Nigerian football for years is not ready to go away.

To start with, it is expected (at least by my humble self) that the task of coaching the Under-20 team this year will not be an easy one for any coach in the land, let alone one that has a full day-to-day job.

This is so because the previous National Under-17 set which naturally should form the nucleus of this Under-20s failed to qualify for the African Championship and so, in our normal ways, discarded the lot – talk of throwing away the baby and the bath water.
Since there was almost nothing on ground in terms of structure or personnel to work with, one can imagine the sort of work Mr Aigbogun and his crew would have done just to put together a list of players that will be eligible to play for the country at that level.

The top flight league in Nigeria hardly helps his cause as league coaches (including the Under-20 handler) always favour ‘old’, recycled legs, most times at the detriment of emerging ones.
It is also not a surprise that the three Under-20 players who represented Nigeria at the recently held African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Morocco were the first names on the list because, at least, they have a database aided by their participation in a major competition. For the rest of the selection, they are purely based on guessing and/or speculation on their eligibility since there is no articulate framework to run to.

- Advertisement -

Allegations of cheating

No sooner had the list been released by the Football Federation than analysts and journalists across Nigeria take to social media to express one reservation or the other about one, two or three players in the list of twenty-eight.

Their major yardstick which could be the only empirical evidence available in a country with abject disdain for record keeping like ours is; the number of seasons such player had played in Nigeria’s first two divisions.

Our findings

The first name that came to my attention was Douglas Achiv, a good central midfielder who was dropped at the dying minutes of preparation for CHAN 2018 by coach Salisu Yusuf.

I discovered that Achiv was also invited to camp by late Stephen Keshi for 2014 CHAN and featured for the first time in the NPFL for Lobi Stars in the 2013 season.

Douglas Achiv of @LobiStars / Nigeria B is a creative, talented midfielder. Achiv, signed from Apa United FC, played 20-25 matches (1 goal)

— WestAfricanFootball (@WA_Foot) October 27, 2013

https://twitter.com/FisayoDairo/status/967059001853775875
Ospino Egbe

However, as being emphasised in this article, there is no record to prove or disprove that Achiv was just an exceptional 13-year old in 2013.

Also on the list is goalkeeper Ospino Egbe who is in his third NPFL season with Church side MFM FC of Lagos.

My findings reveal that Egbe was third choice goalkeeper at Ocean Boys of Brass in 2010 and famously had an auto accident with his teammate then, Okey Akabogu.

Ospino however seemingly went under the radar before resurfacing at MFM, perhaps making the selectors believe he is just playing his third league season. His case is however complicated by the tweet below, showing his year of birth as 1992.
https://twitter.com/WA_Foot/status/835950309969113089

One other player whose eligibility has been questioned incidentally is Moses Peter Eneji. He earned himself an infamous red card at the 2018 CHAN final and records available with the Confederation of African Football states that he was born on April 4, 1999.

Eneji, our findings revealed joined Dolphins FC (now Rivers United) in mid 2013/14 season from Unicem Rovers of Calabar but left the Port Harcourt side at the end of the season.

That suggests that the flying winger started his career so early and was brilliant enough to be playing for second division side UNICEM at 15.

Considering where Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa are coming from with regard to cases of age issues, it must be stated that 3/28 is a wonderful score but the problem inherent in this is the inability to trace the records of other players invited to the team. Players like Adesina Gata, Joseph Abiodun have also been speculated with traces of being overaged but where is the concrete evidence to lay claim to that?

It is glaring, even to the blind that this is a societal problem as not only footballers but civil servants, Professors and Politicians have been discovered to have falsified their ages at one time or the other. The society clearly gives these micro organisms enough broth and growth culture to manifest themselves in the future.

Since it is never too late to start, it can be recommended that the secrecy which has clouded the dates of births of players in the leagues must be removed so that everyone knows right from the onset.

With the advent of the laudable NPFL Under-15 Promises, there is an urgent need for players’ data to go directly into a database starting from the regional qualification level as that is the only way the league stars of ten, fifteen years to come can be monitored.

The NFF release included a clause which perhaps was suggestive that the Football House are in the dark as regards some of their dates of births and that has passed the message that this niggling thorn in the flesh of Nigerian football still basks in the absence of database.

“All invited players are to arrive at the Serob Legacy Hotel, Wuye, Abuja between Sunday, 25th February and Monday, 26th February, with their international passports, birth certificates and training kits.”

EiE: Troost-Ekong and Udinese suffer humiliation in Italy 
FERNANDINHO KEEPS CITY TICKING OVER
Premier League: Chelsea complete record Kepa transfer
Gov Wike Cup: Igali cautions refs as Championship kicks off
Kano Pillars eye 2023 volleyball title
TAGGED:Douglas AchivNigeria U20Ospino EgbePaul Aigbogun
Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Previous Article NPFL: Rangers’ Itoya bullish ahead clash with Pillars
Next Article WAFU Women: Nigeria win third place
Leave a Comment

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Categories

YourSportsMemo

Latest News

Bayelsa Queens ramp up WAFU prep with friendly wins
News NWFL Women's Football
WAFCON 2024 Semifinal Preview: Nigeria vs South Africa
#YourSportsMemo Blogs News Super Falcons Women's Football
WAFCON Diary Six: hotels, hot showers and suspicious pepper soup
#YourSportsMemo Blogs News Super Falcons
CAF GS Mosengo-Omba impressed by CHAN 2024 Readiness
Competition Football News Super Eagles

Stay Connected

FacebookLike
XFollow
InstagramFollow

Archives

Latest News

Fenerbahçe confirm Sabastine Flourish Chioma signing 
News Women's Football
WAFCON 2024 Semifinals: Powerhouses clash as line-up is confirmed
Blogs Competition News Women's Football
WAFCON Diary Five: Bread, five goals and a driver with a proposal
#YourSportsMemo Blogs News Super Falcons

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 14.8K other subscribers
ACLSportsACLSports
Follow US
© ACLSports. All Rights Reserved.
adbanner