Manchester United, Chelsea and Nigerians
By Reuben Abati

THE passion, enthusiasm, indeed the frenzy that the European Champions League final, on Wednesday, between Manchester United and Chelsea football clubs threw up among Nigerians is a comment on the deep and continuing Eurocentrism of Nigerian football fans, in the absence of a similarly engaging local football league. About the same time as the Champion league final in Moscow, Glomobile, the telecom company that sponsors the local league was sending, via SMS, a Predict and Win promo in which it asked Nigerians to predict the winner of the Nigerian Premier League involving such teams as Bayelsa, Pillars and Heartland. This did not generate any excitement at all.

Very few Nigerians know the names of current Nigerian football clubsides. The stadia across the country have become desolate. And I guess I had made this point before: the most interesting thing about the National Stadium in Lagos these days is that it is one of the best places to get delicious peppersoup including nkwobi and point and kill, on a daily basis. On Sundays, the churches hold worship sessions in places which used to serve as training grounds for sportsmen and women. This story, of neglect and decay, is replicated across Nigeria. No Nigerian football team is quoted on the Stock Exchange. There is none that has a functional football stadium of its own, or a grip on the public imagination. I doubt if there are many Nigerians who know the colours of Nigerian football teams. Football coaches in Nigeria are also not the kind of celebrities that coaches are elsewhere. But Nigerians love football. They are crazy about it.

The English Premiership and European leagues have since filled the vacuum that exists at home. This much was clear on Wednesday, May 21. Very early in the day, the streets of Lagos had been taken over by Manchester Red and Chelsea Blue colours. Football fanatics decorated their cars with the colours of their favourite teams. In Mushin, young boys wore Chelsea Blue and they dared anyone in the neighbourhood to show up in Manchester Red.

Smart traders made quick sales from the emblems of English clubsides and the jerseys of the players. Nigerian families are divided into supporters of this or that English team with the most popular clubsides being Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool. This week, Arsenal and Liverpool supporters were quiet, but this did not necessarily force them to shift their loyalties to either Manchester United or Chelsea and if anyone did, it was only for the moment and most likely out of excitement. Arsenal and Liverpool fans nursed their regrets and vowed that next time around, it would be their turn. In Ikosi, a Lagos suburb, Man U supporters bought a cow and dressed it up in Red. Chelsea supporters did the same, and placed their own cow on display too.

In Nigeria, supporters of English clubsides have associations with presiding Chairmen and Secretaries; they have special uniforms and it is not unusual to run into a big owambe party, with a musician on the bandstand, all put together by fanatics of English football celebrating their club's victory. In Ikeja, on Wednesday, some streets had red or blue banners flying in the sky. By 7.30 p.m Nigerian time, about fifteen minutes to the kick-off of the match in Moscow, Lagos streets had been deserted. Ordinarily at such an hour of the day, Lagos roads are congested with traffic.

But the congestion had shifted to bars, restaurants, pepper soup joints, and similar locations or wherever a television set could be found. I was concerned that there could be an outbreak of violence. About a year ago, one fellow had been stabbed in the head because he dared to show too much excitement in a wrong location when his team won. The obsession with English football in Nigeria is a form of neo-colonialism, but this is a case of voluntary, wilful submission to the supremacy of the Outsider. In real terms, there may be elements of psychosis involved. With the national electricity supply down to less than 800 MW, and parts of the country in darkness for weeks, people still managed to watch the match with the help of generating sets.. Even in areas of the city where poverty is rife, you could see Hi-TV and DSTV dishes suddenly springing up a few days to the Moscow final.

I rushed out of the office to find my way to the Niteshift Coliseum where in the company of friends, and with a flowing supply of beer and goat meat pepper soup, I sat down to watch the match. I need not remind anyone that the match lived up to its billing, almost of the same status as a World Cup final. Manchester United and Chelsea are easily two of the most successful clubs in the world, with Man U parading extraordinary records and its manager, Sir Alex Ferguson certainly the most successful football manager in England in the last 50 years and perhaps beyond. There was only one Man U fan among us that evening. All the others are die-hard fanatics of either Arsenal or Liverpool. As for me, I am non-aligned, the maddening obsession is too much for me. Our friend, the Man U supporter insisted that he is not just a fan, he is also a stakeholder and an investor in Man U. "I bought some shares in the club, nothing much, but I just bought a few to show that I am fully committed to Man U." Here is a Nigerian buying a few shares in an English clubside.

And on Wednesday evening, he almost had a heart attack. First, he could not touch his pepper soup. His beer went cold and flat due to neglect. His eyes were glued to the TV set as if his life depended on it. When Man U missed two great chances in the first half, he slumped in his chair. When Chelsea equalised through Lampard in the dying minute of the first half, he was so sad, he blamed Man U defenders. He kept insisting that Sir Alex should take out Rooney who in his estimation was not playing well. We had to keep reminding him that Chelsea is not in Moscow to allow Man U run away with the prize. And besides, Moscow is home more or less to Chelsea with Russian owner of the club, Roman Abramovich, in the stands, keeping an eye, like Mike, on his investment.

As it turned out, Chelsea dominated the second half, sending Mike into paroxysms of fear. Two deadly shots one of them designed by Didier Drogba bounced off the bar in front of Man U's goal. But our Man U supporter was confident. Again he drew attention to the fact that Sir Alex had changed from a suit to a track suit. "Now, the war will begin", he boasted. We had to point out to him that the man was actually wearing a rain coat because it was raining heaviiy in Moscow. When Ryan Giggs was brought in to replace Scholes, Mike and the Liverpool fan who was now rooting for Man U, said: "Baba is here. Baba will change the game!"

Didier Drogba nearly spoiled the fun when in the later part of the match, he slapped Vidic. The red card that threw him out of the match and the stadium (he didn't show up to collect his medal) gladdened our hearts. Drogba is richly talented, but he is too much of a prima donna, and this stands in the way of the spirit of sportsmanship. And then the penalties came. The rain and passion-soaked match ended with Van der Sar saving Nicholas Anelka's final attempt for Chelsea and the Red Devils breaking loose in a celebration dance across the world. In all parts of Lagos, there were victory dances. Even yesterday, MBI, a Nigerian TV channel showed images of parties thrown by Man U fans. Our friend Mike ordered a round of drinks to celebrate the success of his investment: "by tomorrow morning, in fact even now, Man U stocks will go up," he said. On my way home, I saw Chelsea fans holding on to their jerseys as if a tragedy had befallen them. Man U fans from Ikeja all the way to Ojodu and Akute in neighbouring Ogun state spilled onto the streets and did victory laps. By now, it was around 12 midnight and it was instructive to see Nigerians expending so much energy on something that does not really concern many of them.

Yesterday, I got the following instructive text message from Tunde Sulaiman: "... I was in Sagamu yesterday before the match, there were pre-victory celebration carnivals by hundreds of unemployed youths all clad in Chelsea blue colour while the okada mounted Chelsea flags. There were rumours that a prominent traditional ruler donated a cow to be slaughtered in anticipation of Chelsea's victory. After the match, the whole town was like a cemetery. What madness of the highest order by foolish, unpatriotic fans of foreign football clubs." In Sagamu, as in Alakuko, Ikosi and other parts of Nigeria, Chelsea fans could not slaughter the rams and the cows that they had bought in anticipation of victory. In Lagos, a former Governor is said to have promised to host Man U fans to a big party, this weekend.

Tunde Sulaiman is partly right. What Nigeria must do is to capture and channel this amazing energiy, this passion for footbball into an opportunity for developing the local league and sports infrastructure. Once upon a time in this country, there were thriving football clubs: Stationery Stores, Mighty Jets, Enugu Rangers, Bendel Insurance, IICC, Abiola Babes, BCC Lions of Gboko, Leventis United which attracted as much support from the people. Today, football administration in Nigeria is in the hands of a money-spending, influence-seeking Mafia that is more interested in the opportunity to award contracts and travel abroad. Nigeria must get rid of this incompetent Mafia, and create a National Sorts Policy/Framework that is performance-driven with the potential to produce more Kanu Nwankwos, more Mikel Obis, more Chioma Ajunwas...There are too many talented young men and women on the streets of Nigeria, who are currently busy as fanatics of other people's achievements.

There are business opportunities involved also: all those traders selling Man U T-shirts and emblems can do a lot more selling the jerseys of Nigerian football teams if they are given the chance to express themselves locally. The private sector used to be actively involved in Nigerian football: sports-loving companies can be encouraged to explore the business potentials that have been demonstrated. The Moscow final was a great moment for English football, and for the European Union: a thriving local league can provide great opportunities for national branding and even foreign relations. Beyond all of this is the human dimension of the Moscow event: the bitter rivalry between Manchester United and Chelsea, the competition, the contrasts of victory and defeat, the unravelling of Drogba, John Terry and Ronaldo when it mattered most and the heroism of Van der Sar: all of which is a beautiful reflection of the depths of the human essence.

Robot  # 1 | 23.05.2008 07:46

Manchester United, Chelsea and Nigerians By Reuben Abati ...Read the full article.

akuluouno  # 2 | 23.05.2008 08:13

Sir, The whole incident is a metaphor for the malaise affecting sports development in general and football administration in particular in Nigeria. Did u notice that good old Michel Platini was the one one doling out the medals in his capacity as the UEFA President. Now where are our Odegbamis, Chukwus, Lawals, Ogedengbes, Okalas etc etc vis a vis their role in sports management in Nigeria. As with sports so in other critical areas of our national life and let me end on a bitter note, the English FA will be extremely bitter the day they know that Nigerians are fanatically in support of their two best teams and would have preferred a country with a better pedigree and image:evil::evil:

Olamide  # 3 | 23.05.2008 08:41

Well, the fanatical support for foreign clubsides will continue until we get rid of the robbers (Yes! They are robbers) occupying the Glass House. Just like other public officers in Nigeria, they are a bunch of crooks whose interest is estacode and contracts. Instead of scouting for talents, they are busy running after contracts and we always end up presenting old men with wives and kids as "Under 17". They killed football in Nigeria through their incompetence and go around crowing about their non-existing 'achievements'. In the days of Rangers, Abiola Babes, Leventis, Stationery Stores etc, the level of support was fanatical and comparable to what we are witnessing now for these foreign clubs. Stadiums are sold out days before matches and teams have their 'Consultant Babalawos, Prayer Warriors and Alfas' to pray them to victory which added to the fun since we all know that God is neutral when it comes to football. We still remember Baba Eleran in Ibadan and his fanatical support for Shooting Stars. While the foreign clubs are smiling to the banks, our local football teams are impoverished and most cannot even command a crowd of 1,000 spectators per match. I am a realistic football fan and have refused to pledge allegiance to any foreign football club for the simple reason that someone cannot be in England or Spain earning 80,000 Pounds or Euro per week and I am fighting on his behalf. The fierce loyalty you see Nigerian fans exhibiting is known as 'transferred affection', meaning that if they could not have a Nigerian football club they could be proud of, they have to transfer the loyalty somewhere else. I hope that we could get real football administrators to revive football in Nigeria and bring back the glorious days again. I personally will start rooting for a Nigerian club once this is done.

aringaranso  # 4 | 23.05.2008 09:18

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Chelsea fan but within me,I know it makes more sense to be more of an Iwuanyawu Nationale fan than a West-London based club. Each time I watch them play,I regret that I can't do same for Gabros or Rangers of Enugu. But there comes a time when one draws a line between what gives him joy and "patriotism". So many things are wrong with Nigeria football, and the worst of it,just like what its obtained in the political side,is that there are no hope in sight. Perphaps,this is why most prefer to chant the anthems of European Clubs instead of the ones we can truly call ours. Thanks for writing,Dr.Abati

Onari  # 5 | 23.05.2008 11:39

The failure of the Nigeria football is not an isolated problem, but total reflection of all that is wrong with our nation. I remember when growing up in Port Harcourt the follower-ship of the local league was passionate and entertaining. In the absence of nothing to fall back to, Nigerians has no choice than to fall back to something outside the country to give them joy. The only thing I know that brings Nigerians together in brotherhood/sisterhood(for the sister-I don't want to leave them out), is football or in generic terms sports. Reuben Abati, the thrill of Nigerians for the Premiership is no madness, it is one of few means in which Nigerians could let off all the pressures of daily life of traffic, to no job, to No power/Water, to police intimidation, to bad road, to elected/appointed officials corrupt and ineptitude and dereliction of duty. The truth is that there are so much missed opportunity and still so much abundant opportunity waiting for the country to tap into to keep a lot of our young men and women on a job and creative venture. The thing begging for attention is to make the necessary ground work and an enabling environment by putting the basic infrastructure, leadership and processes in place.

tonsoyo  # 6 | 23.05.2008 12:46

I rushed out of the office to find my way to the Niteshift Coliseum where in the company of friends, and with a flowing supply of beer and goat meat pepper soup, I sat down to watch the match - Reuben Abati 2008 Ha-Ha! I don catch dem, Reuben Abati, Pat Utomi's good friend is also a "beer parlor pundit" See as dem dey analyse with "a flowing supply of beer" and nkwobi. :D:D:D The composition of this article also started from The Coliseum with Baba dudu, Gulder'mycin' and 'Shine-Shine bobo', playing a prominent role.:lol: On a more serious note, Nigerians need something to make them happy in the midst of everyday tragic life that they live, we have identified this to be the beautiful game of Soccer, and since that department like many others is moribund in Nigeria, they naturally turned elsewhere to derive fun. O piti! piti! piti!:sad:

10Kobo  # 7 | 23.05.2008 16:45

Did somebody say those Nigerians are foolish and unpatriotic? Haaa, what else shall we not throw at Nigerians? Just for supporting "something good and worthy of emulation"! I am a "GUNNER", one of my sons is also a "Gunner for life", another one taunts us that the "AIG" on Man-U's jersey means "Arsenal Is Gay"! Seven year old boy, for that mater :D But seriously speaking, football is a global brand, its a "business system" and all the components of such system - organization, funding, administration, accountability, merchandising, advertising, result and profit sharing, all go together. I dont know whether you have witnessed some THUGS chasing the referee and dealing him machete-cuts, after a game at Onikan? Have you not seen thugs and Area-Boys "obtaining and raping" football spectators on their way home, after a game? Same happens, after all these Beach musical shows! Wickedness encouraged by no-security. Now, would l endanger my life, that of my wife and children, to go at watch a match, in support of my favorite Nigerian team under such scenario? God forbid. Lets stop chasing shadows, Patriotism of Nigerians is not the problem, it is the brazen corruption, lack of commitment, zero accountability and total lack of respect for laid-down rules that SHIFTS the zeal and support of Nigerians to where they think it will reward them with emotional joy. Once we can muster the courage to deal with the criminals in the Sport Commission and the Glass House, you will be surprised at the flexibility of Nigerians! A nation that can not even guarantee stable power supply after expending Tens of Billions of Dollars does not deserve such Patriotism from its suffering citizens. :cool:

Dapxin  # 8 | 24.05.2008 00:30

How we manage to ask an everyday Nigerian, the patriotism question amazes me. As far as I am concerned, the principle of a country, as it affects say a Briton, or even a Zambian with the attendant, concept of patriotism - a deep feeling of pride in what is yours/can be yours/shall be yours/will be made yours, is pretty dead. And that is sad... Lets face it, in a coutry that is generating 800MW of electricity, with oil prices hitting record numbers (it was $36 at about this time some 2years ago per barrel), football is quite probably the one miracle (of National proportion) that keeps the rest of us alive, with the joy of watching the 'football' leaving you with many hours of excitement, you rarely can create, let alone enjoy in a society gone under. How the idi0ts managing Nigeria manages to keep the NFA / Ministry so idi0tic ad infinitum is unbelievable. Its just as if they - Yaradua et al, are clueless as to the opportunities that exists in this one sector. Truth is, imo, if we get football right, we'd have bridged 60% of the ethnic divide that rears its ugly face, almost everytime there is a chance for proper progress in terms of Nigeria's development. You have to admire the british marketing 'think-thank' - they successfully etched these teams - Man U / Arsenal / Liverpool and lately Chelsea ( the so called top4) into the global football psyche -through the diligent use global broadcasting influences. In the late 90s, Juventus / Ajax and Man Utd were probably as celebrated through Nigeria. I dont think project Nigeria will survive its apparent nose dive. In anycase, football brings joy, its the ONLY one thing watchable these days on TV, except if you are a fan of strictly come smooching(BBC) or idi0tic conferences of gomina Agagu blowing endless grammar (OSRC) :(... Cheers to all Utd fans. See you all next season.

Ochi Dabari  # 9 | 24.05.2008 08:41

Things are becoming more difficult as far as support for Nigerian clubsides is concerned. I did follow the exploits of Aberdeen FC in the 1980s when Ferguson was in charge, before he moved south to Manchester. In those days, you would not see BBC TV or CNN or any of the many foreign channels seen in Nigeria now. We followed it all on radio and newspaper. But I was also a fan of Enugu Rangers and bought their memorabilia (just a booklet with photos and nothing much more!). As a Benue Plateau indigene, of course, I had some leaning to the Mighty Jets of Jos. Years later when we had the BBC Lions and Lobi Stars, I was with them but kept some eye on European clubs, particularly ManU. Things will not be the same again. Who wants to watch grainy channels showing the Nigerian league? You would have stars in one season and by next season, they are all in Europe or Asia. So, the Nigerian football fan shifts his radar to Europe, just as my radar followed Sir Alex, from Aberdeen to Manchester. When I lived in the UK, I tried to watch Aberdeen FC on a few occasions but I could see that the team was no longer the same, since Ferguson departed. What enthralls me with ManU is how Ferguson takes ordinary (budding) players and turns them into superstars. He did it with Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Eric Cantona, Beckham and lately, Ronaldo. Come to think of it, ManU does not even have superstars; only Eric, Beckham and Ronaldo come close to that definition, but you have a team of average but very dedicated players who rule the world. It is a lesson in national development - the progress you make does not depend on how rich you are (Eric Donaldson). It is a lesson for Nigeria - we have more resources than at least 1/3 of the countries in the world but we are in the bottom 20. Poor marketing and bad communication is killing Nigerian football. We have skillful players who need to be shown to the world. That cannot be done from Nigeria, so the guys leave the country and we follow their exploits. Along the way, we fall in love with the teams overseas. To all ManU supporters in the house, I greet you. We had a good year; if it works for you for the whole year, it is a Goodyear! I have no sympathy for Chelsea, Arsernal (coached by Ar.sehole Wan.ker) or Liverpool. ochi

skanbroy  # 10 | 24.05.2008 09:10

=Ochi Dabari;4295046000>Things are becoming more difficult as far as support for Nigerian clubsides is concerned. I did follow the exploits of Aberdeen FC in the 1980s when Ferguson was in charge, before he moved south to Manchester. In those days, you would not see BBC TV or CNN or any of the many foreign channels seen in Nigeria now. We followed it all on radio and newspaper. But I was also a fan of Enugu Rangers and bought their memorabilia (just a booklet with photos and nothing much more!). As a Benue Plateau indigene, of course, I had some leaning to the Mighty Jets of Jos. Years later when we had the BBC Lions and Lobi Stars, I was with them but kept some eye on European clubs, particularly ManU. Things will not be the same again. Who wants to watch grainy channels showing the Nigerian league? You would have stars in one season and by next season, they are all in Europe or Asia. So, the Nigerian football fan shifts his radar to Europe, just as my radar followed Sir Alex, from Aberdeen to Manchester. When I lived in the UK, I tried to watch Aberdeen FC on a few occasions but I could see that the team was no longer the same, since Ferguson departed. What enthralls me with ManU is how Ferguson takes ordinary (budding) players and turns them into superstars. He did it with Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Eric Cantona, Beckham and lately, Ronaldo. Come to think of it, ManU does not even have superstars; only Eric, Beckham and Ronaldo come close to that definition, but you have a team of average but very dedicated players who rule the world. It is a lesson in national development - the progress you make does not depend on how rich you are (Eric Donaldson). It is a lesson for Nigeria - we have more resources than at least 1/3 of the countries in the world but we are in the bottom 20. Poor marketing and bad communication is killing Nigerian football. We have skillful players who need to be shown to the world. That cannot be done from Nigeria, so the guys leave the country and we follow their exploits. Along the way, we fall in love with the teams overseas. To all ManU supporters in the house, I greet you. We had a good year; if it works for you for the whole year, it is a Goodyear! I have no sympathy for Chelsea, Arsernal (coached by Ar.sehole Wan.ker) or Liverpool. ochi Ochi: You spoilt this beautiful comment with that last paragraph. My finger was on the Thank you button, to thank you for the inciteful comments you made in the first few paragraphs of your post. Come rain or shine Gunners will surely rule the world. Arsenal forever!!!!!!!

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