Fading glory, resuscitation of grassroots sports in Kwara
“You use a knife and fork to eat, it was like that 100 years ago, and 100 years from now it will still be the same. Some things just don’t change. The same applies to football. First, the basics have to be in place, and it’s only then you can make improvements.” Those Were the words of the legendary Dutch footballer, Johan Cruyff, of the blessed memory. In essence, Cruyff was particular about the rudiments of sports not because he didn’t understand the nature and the in-depth knowledge of soccer but because he knew everything he became was the product of how he was harnessed and managed while he was a teenager.
Kwara has been in existence since 1967 and a whole lot of talents has emerged from the state of harmony, talk of Segun Toriola, a veteran table tennis player who has represented Nigeria in five Olympic tournaments, All African Games, Commonwealth games, scooping numerous gong in the process. Late Rashidi Yekini is synonymous to the Nigeria Football world, a man who hailed from the southern part of Kwara. He was the first-ever player to score for the Super Eagles in a World Cup tournament, he was also named the African footballer of the year in 1993. Only recently, a certain Taiwo Awoniyi announced himself as one of the world most sought after teenager in football when he helped the Golden Eaglets clinch the FIFA Under-17 world cup in 2013, which was held in the United Arab Emirates where he registered four goals.
The list could continue non-stop. That’s the wonder Kwarans can perform when it comes to sporting activities. Those athletes mentioned above were not accidental rather they were products of right monitoring. Take a deep search and you’ll find many Toriolas, sbundant Yekinis and an good number of Awoniyis.
Authoritatively, I can say there’s only one park designed for baseball in the whole of West Africa. Fortunately and unfortunately for us, the park is situated in Ilorin the capital city of Kwara, along Adewole Al-hikmah axis. I said fortunately because we’re blessed with such admirable centre, which can help against the continuous rise of defiances, who specialize in all forms of immorality as a result of idleness when given proper attention cum projection. Unfortunately, no government has ever thought of it as a monumental phenomenon which some states were denied the opportunity of harbouring on their soil. I, on so many occasions, have visited the park whenever a tourney is staged, to my greatest surprise, Team Kwara have never come out victorious not even for once. In fact, Team Delta was the victor the last time out despite the fact that Delta doesn’t have a place designed for the game. You’re asking why we haven’t been doing so well even when we have the environment to prepare? The answer is not far fetched. GOVERNMENT! why? Because, you look around and find pupils with a zeal for a certain sport but the inability to showcase the talent bestowed on them to the sports stakeholders in the state due to their preference for the kids of the affluents, though there are exceptional talents from rich homes, but the number is incomparable with those from the middle-class section.
In the year 2005, Kwara Football Academy, an initiative of the then Executive governor of the state, His Excellency Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki which was opened by Former CAF president Issa Hayatou, the academy which was seen by football sport experts all over the country as a glimmer of hope for those in the grassroots. The citadel hit the ground running from the word Go! The academy under the leadership of one time Super Eagles coach then, enjoyed their most luxurious period sending four players to Chelsea and Portsmouth Football Club of England, two players to each club respectively. Since then, KFA has been a major supplier of young footballers to the local football club in Kwara which include the Kwara United and ABS Football Club. Recently the management of the Academy claimed to have been the path through which Dennis Bonaventure passed before he turned a professional, a prodigy of Belgian side, Club Brugge. Those young athletes were able to make it big through KFA because the government provided the necessary facilities and equipment which can also be termed as motivation for those at the grassroots.
By and large, there is this challenge posed by KFA because of the “too” exorbitant tuition fee. Can a civil servant enroll his ward into the Academy? Can a petty trader afford the fee for his kid? No doubt, it’s negative! The fee is huge to bear for a middle-class citizen. As such, safe for football, how many sports Academy do we have in the state when we have brilliants and resolute kids in other sports. Sport is more than football, it is a course that must be championed by prominent sports personalities in the state for we are so backward as a people when it comes to other sports.
There is to sport, the basketball side, the baseball side, the gymnastic side, the track games, the tennis side, and all others. How much investment are we making in these areas? If only to go inline with the global trend of talent hunting and creativity.
Sports in my country hasn’t been seen as a culture nor as a source of income, Alas! In 2018, The USA and Canada generated a whopping €9.2m. while in 2018, the English premiership brought into the purse of the Football Association an extravagant amount of €6.04m. All things have been equal, such feats can be achieved in our dear state for it’s never a rocket science but thorough management, monitoring, motivation and incentives for those at the grassroots.
In this era of almost 100million extreme poverty rate, 23.1percent unemployment rate, isn’t it obvious, the need for an alternative way of engaging the teeming Nigeria youths? Why not in sports? Numerous countries and companies have proven how economically viable sports can be if properly invested in. In January this year, a report from the United Kingdoms affirmed that sporting activities contributes over 39billion pounds to the UK economy and a whooping over 1million jobs created.
To achieve such, everything we become even outside sports will all be traced to what we put down and went through, the plans and how well we executed them, the right investment at the right time, starting from the early days, say our secondary schools as we use to have them in the past. In essence, the government should focus on developing and upgrading secondary school sports, through funding and sponsoring of tournaments. About a decade ago, there used to be sporting activities between secondary schools all over the state, in the year 2010, I participated in a football competition sponsored by Lubcon and since then I’ve always been nurturing this ambition of being a sportsman, either as an athlete or a sports analyst. Milo Basketball tourney used to be an anticipated tournament back then as well as Shell football and indoor games. All these are sports within secondary schools in the state. Where are all this tournament? What has changed? Where are those sponsors? Should we say there are no talents in secondary schools anymore or there is nothing like the sports department in our schools again.
Secondly, street talent hunts. Abia State in an attempt to promote and enhance grassroots football in 2012, Abia warriors picked out a Chisom Chikatara whose mother sells Akara in the street of Umuahia through a talent hunt programme. Chikatara was pivotal for Abia Warriors’ success in his four years stint at the club scoring 58 goals in 71 appearances for the local club before he moved to Morocco where he represented Wydad Casablanca for two years. Chikatara might still be hawking Akara with his mum if Abia State government through Abia Warriors hadn’t organise that talent hunt programme, but the readiness of that state government in promoting grassroots sports promoted the emergence of “Omo Iya Alakara” in the football world. If Abia State is still operating such programmes at the moment is something I can’t tell, but the fact that they had a success story once can’t be overemphasised. Kwara State can take solace in that and come up with an upgraded laudable initiative which I believe will go extra miles in touching the lives of poor kids on the street, who are in one way or the other sacred with sports talents.
If one day the government sees the development of grassroots as their priority, trust me, our local sports teams will do the state proud in their respective leagues, Kwara United will be a traditional club in Nigeria Lrofessional Football League, Kwara Falcons will continue flying the flag of the state high in the Kwese premier Basketball league season, the same way Kwara table tennis will represent us so well in every Nigeria Table Tennis federation tournament, all of these are feasible if and only if, government sees themselves as the decider!
The resultant effect will be a reduction in youth criminality and economic prosperity that which I think is the target of the government as of today.
