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Okowa… Obstacles To Surmount In Delta Sports

By Gowon Akpodonor
18 April 2015   |   9:58 am
Though Senator Ifeanyi Okowa is yet to officially assume duty as governor of Delta State, the people, especially players and athletes, are already leaning on him for salvation.
Warri Wolves. Image source gong

Warri Wolves. Image source gong

Though Senator Ifeanyi Okowa is yet to officially assume duty as governor of Delta State, the people, especially players and athletes, are already leaning on him for salvation.

Today, the state owned football club, Warri Wolves FC, will carry the hopes and aspirations of millions of Nigerian soccer fans, as they confront FCMK of Congo DR in the CAF Confederation Cup second round, first leg match at Warri City Stadium.

Wolves is Nigeria’s only surviving club in the race, as Enyimba of Aba, Kano Pillars and Dolphins of Port Harcourt were kicked out at the early stage of this year’s CAF competitions. But the journey for the Warri-based club to this stage of the competition has not been so smooth.

The Congolese club arrived Warri on Tuesday only to meet a ‘divided’ Warri Wolves, whose players were said to be threatening to embark on strike to press home their demand for payment of four months salaries.

Although an official of Warri Wolves later said there was no iota of truth in the story, he admitted that the club had been operating under a tight condition since the commencement of their continental assignment due to cash crunch.

Okowa and Uduaghan

Okowa and Uduaghan

According to him, their budget for the CAF assignment has just been approved by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, but it is yet to scale through the State Executive Council.

“We hope things improve as quickly as possible because our journey in the CAF competition is becoming more difficult by the day. We are operating at zero level finance wise, and this is affecting us badly. It was the issue of fund that sent Dolphins of Port Harcourt out of the race and we don’t want that to happen to us,” the official said.

In their two previous matches, some top officials of Wolves allegedly ‘borrowed’ money to enable the club make the trip to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia respectively.

In fact, the club narrowly escaped the drop in their first game against Racing Club Bobo-Dioulasso of Burkina Faso, as the players and their officials earlier missed their flight in Lagos due to difficulties in ‘gathering’ cash for the trip.

It was the same ‘tight’ situation when Wolves traveled to Addis Ababa for their second game against Dedebit FC of Ethiopia.

From the administration of former Governor James Onanefe Ibori in 1999 till date, Delta has maintained its position as Nigeria’s leader in the sports circle.

The Ibori regime opened the floodgate of successes when Team Delta took the driver’s seat in the National Sports Festival, Nigeria’s version of the Olympic Games, and has not looked back since then. The state announced its presence at Bauchi 2000 edition of the biannual games, where it beat older states to the title for the first time.Delta Queens

The Edo 2002 edition, which was nearly marred by irregularities, saw Team Delta beaten to the first position, but it quickly regained it two years later, when Abuja hosted the 2004 edition. It was Team Delta winning the festival again at Gateway 2006 to mark a glorious end to the Ibori’s administration.

The Uduaghan’s regime, which began in 2007, continued with the trend. The city of Kaduna hosted the 16th edition of the National Sports festival in 2009 and Team Delta finished top, beating Edo and Ogun states to second and third positions respectively.

The 17th edition took place in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in 2011, and at the end, Team Delta placed second behind the host, Rivers, though many people disagreed with the result, believing that Delta was cheated.

To prove its capability, Uduaghan’s strong army, led by Amaju Pinnick stormed Lagos in 2012 and regained its No.1 position, and in the process, dethroned Rivers State.

However, outside its dominance in the National Sports festival, Delta has not been able to win the heart of many Nigerian sports lovers in the area of soccer, the king of sports.

Warri Wolves FC had appeared on more than three occasions in the CAF competitions, but has no good result to show for it. They have not gone beyond the second round in the competition, unlike other Nigerian clubs, Enyimba of Aba, Kano Pillars and Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt.team delta

With the exit of the other three Nigerian clubs from CAF competitions this year, all eyes are on Wolves to carry Nigeria’s flag to appreciable level in the race this time.

For Warri Wolves to achieve their aim in this year’s CAF competition, the onions now rest more on the in-coming Governor Okowa, since the man currently on the stage, Governor Uduaghan is saddled more with the responsibility of preparing for the May 29 hand over ceremony.

Okowa is not new to sports, especially in the football circle. For years, he sponsored an annual football competition known as Okowa Football tournament for youths in Delta North.

As Secretary to Delta State Government (SSG), Okowa made sure that money was released on time for the state contingent to prepare and participate in the National Sports Festival and other sporting events. It yielded good results for the state.

He is surrounded by many football lovers, including his immediate younger brother, Tony Okowa, who was once the vice chairman of Delta Football Association (DFA). Tony Okowa is also the chairman of Delta Force Football Club of Asaba.

“Apart from power shifting from Governor Uduaghan in Delta South to Okowa in Delta North, the administration of the football has equally shifted from Amaju Pinnick (Delta South) to Austin Jay-Jay Okocha (Delta North).’

Okocha, who hails from Ogwashi-Uku, was recently elected Chairman of DFA, replacing Pinnick, who is overseeing affairs as President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

It is expected that Okocha ‘Maradona of Africa’ will build on the successes recorded by the out-going government to take Delta football to a greater height.

In his playing days for both country and clubs across Europe, Okocha was adored for his dribbling skill and magic touch with the ball, helping the Super Eagles to win the African Nations Cup trophy at Tunisia ’94 and also won an Olympics soccer gold medal at Atlanta ’96. He went on to feature for the Super Eagles at three different FIFA World Cup finals – USA ‘94, France ’98 and Korea/Japan 2002.

Even before his election as DFA boss two months ago, Okocha had played a part in the rejuvenation of Delta Governor’s Cup competition, an idea of the out-going Governor Uduaghan.

Okocha and other ex-internationals like Victor Ikpeba, Davidson Owumi and John Omughele were in the committee that stated the maiden Delta Governor’s Cup competition among public secondary schools in 2013. It was a huge success.

It is expected that in-coming Governor Okowa will provide the enabling environment for Okocha to display his skill as football administrator. He must also consider putting the square peg in square hole in appointment of officers, especially in the sports ministry.

The state owned female club, Delta Queens FC, is now a shadow of its old self. The once conquering Delta Queens managed to escape relegation at the end of last season and accusing fingers are being pointed at the technical crew, which many believe, has become the earthworm eating so deep into the club. It is one area Okowa, and indeed, Okocha’s DFA must look into as quickly as possible.

The 19th edition of the National Sports festival billed for the city of Calabar, Cross River State, suffered postponement last year. It may be Okowa’s first major test as governor, as all eyes are on Team Delta to maintain its leadership position, which it began in the Ibori’s administration.

The incoming Okowa’s administration is inheriting quality sports infrastructure put in place by both the Ibori and Uduaghan’s administration.

Apart from Asaba Stadium, which is yet to be fully completed and put into use, the stadia in Warri, Sapele, Oghara, Ughelli, Oleh, Agbor, Okwashi-Uku and Kwale are waiting to host sporting events of any magnitude in Africa.

“One major area the Uduaghan’s government distinguished itself from others in the past eight years was his interest as well as knowledge of sports. His emphasis on quality kits, coupled with his financial boost to athletes and their officials before, during and after major sporting competitions did great magic for the state.”

Athletes, who are of Delta State origin, currently doing well for Nigeria like Blessing Okagbare, Ese Brume and Divine Oduduru may need Okowa’s financial support from time to time.

Perhaps, the Okowa’s administration might be the first to consider the idea of biding to host the National Sports Festival, which the state had avoided several times.

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