WHAT can we do to stop these Camerounians Why is it that each time we start playing well these people will come to deflate our expectations Those were the sad words of a confused official of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), who could not come to terms with Nigerias disappointing loss to the Junior Lions of Cameroun on Thursday at the on-going African Youth Championship (AYC).In deed, most Nigerians here in Soweto expected the Flying Eagles to fly above the junior Lions owing to the promise the team showed in dismantling defending champions, Ghana, in the opening game of the group phase on Monday. So, it was a rude shock seeing the Lions strolling all over the pitch as if the Nigerians did not exist. The Flying Eagles performance left most of the Nigerian supporters, which included a sizable number of South Africans, dumbfounded.Ruing a performance that is threatening to prematurely terminate Nigerias continued participation in this edition of the AYC, the official, who pleaded anonymity, said his disappointment was hinged on the enormous support the NFF gave John Obuh and his boys, adding that only a few Nigerian teams outside the Super Eagles have received as much support in recent times as the Flying Eagles got from the federation.According to the official, we ensured they got adequate training time on quality facilities by taking them to Libya and then Europe for camping. We do not owe them any bonus; in fact, we have increased their bonuses to ensure they did well here. But look at this performance against Cameroun, is it the way a team desirous of success playsWhile the official was lamenting the Flying Eagles loss, a Nigerian football agent resident in South Africa, Pius Okafor, said the NFF, as well as the federal government were to blame for the continued capitulation of Nigerian teams in big competitions.To Okafor, so long as we keep emphasizing victory at all costs in junior tournaments without laying the foundation for sustainable success we will continue to falter in the presence of such countries as Cameroun.Okafor was particularly irked by the number of officials here for the AYC saying their presence showed that Nigerian officials regarded the competition as the end of all competitions.Suddenly all the big men in Nigerian football have relocated to Nigeria. Nobody is thinking of what to do to raise players for the age group competitions. Rather, all of them are here to share in the expected victory. Now that we have lost to Cameroun I am sure that they will all tuck their tails behind their legs and look for scapegoats to blame for the loss.What nobody has asked is how come Cameroun always finds a way of beating Nigeria even when it is dying In 2007 in Congo Dr., Cameroun defeated Nigeria 2-0 even after it had lost its first two matches and was out of the competition. That is called pride, which we lack.If we had pride as a nation we would not be waiting for the eve of a competition to begin assembling players from Europe for an age group championship like the AYC. At the end of the day, even if we recovered to win this championship, we would not gain anything from it because these are spent forces they have drafted for their kids tournament.Cameroun has been an albatross on Nigerias neck since the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 1991 decided to start the current format where all the teams gather in one venue to decide the best youth team in the continent.Hitherto, the competition was decided on a home and away basis with teams meeting in two legs until the final two emerge to represent the continent in the World Youth Championship.Nigeria did not qualify for the maiden edition in Egypt, but the country debuted in Mauritius 1993, where a team made of the best youngsters in Nigerian football, including Taribo West, Austin Okocha, Patrick Mancha, Kanu Nwankwo and Wilson Oruma, among others, fell 0-1 to a Rigobert Song-inspired Cameroun.The Lionceaux repeated the feat in 1995 in Kaduna when Nigeria hosted the competition. The Lions, which included Mohammed Idrissou, Olembe Olembe and Augustine Sumo beat Fanny Amuns Flying Eagles 2-1 in Kaduna in one of the semifinals of that championship.The Flying Eagles did not qualify for the 1997 edition hosted by Morocco, but Nigeria returned at the Ghana 1999 edition, where it had one over the Lionceaux, winning by 2-1 in Kumasi.Both teams did not meet again until 2007 when an already eliminated Cameroun, led by Arsenals Alex Song, defeated Nigeria 2-0 in Congo to foil the Flying Eagles dream of a 100 per cent record in the group stage of the competition.Camerouns victory over Nigeria in the semifinal of the competition two years ago in Rwanda was more emphatic as it not only put paid to Nigerias ambition of winning its sixth title, but also ensured that the country, boasting the bulk of the team that won the FIFA U-17 Championship two years earlier in South Korea, did not achieve its aim of going to the Egypt 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup as African champions.Officials of the NFF see the latest setback as a minor dent, which the team would correct as the competition goes on. To them, Nigeria can still win this years AYC.To ensure the team accomplishes the feat, the NFF in an emergency meeting yesterday approved that the players should be paid the sum of $2,000 each if they are able to fly above Gambian tomorrowa feat that would automatically earn them a semi final ticket and a berth at the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in Colombia later this year.Speaking on the moves to lift the Flying Eagles to success, NFF President, Aminu Maigari, said, the players will get the sum of $2,000 each for a win, which is a 100 per cent increase on their regular bonus. We believe this should motivate them maximally to go for the three points.The federation has also barred agents, scouts, fans and journalists from the teams Garden Court Southern Sun hotel in Kempton Park.This move, according to the Chairman of the NFF Technical Committee, Chris Green, is one of the steps taken to arrest distractions and possible decline following the 1-0 loss to Cameroon.Green said the move became pertinent as a result of the influx of football agents and all manner of scouts into Johannesburg for the competition, and the distractions they were beginning to bring.This is something we have to arrest. We have brought the players here to win the African Youth Championship trophy and make our people back home happy, not for them to sign contracts for all manner of clubs in Europe and elsewhere, said Green.Nigeria is expected to rise from the latest defeat by Cameroun to beat Gambia tomorrow because it needs the three points to earn a ticket to the semifinals and ultimately to the FIFA U-20 World Cup slated to begin in Colombia on July 29.
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