BENJAMIN AMOGU
It will be really impossible for Nigerian clubs to win the CAF Champions or CAF Confederations Cup for now.
This is the submission of Fidelis Ilechukwu, the coach of Plateau United while reacting to the elimination of Rivers United from the CAF Confederations Cup.
The former Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) manager who not only took the Church Boys from the lower league to the top flight but led them to both the CAF Champions League and the second-tier CAF Confederations Cup, said the Nigerian league is presently run cannot help any team to go all the way.
The former Heartland of Owerri manager, in a report in a national daily, said the exodus of players and poor remuneration, among other factors, have been responsible for the country’s poor showing in club competition.
“We don’t retain quality players in the league because every now and then, our players leave.
“We cannot eat our cake and have it; every year we allow our best players to go and we start scrambling for other players.
“Incidentally, where they go are all these clubs in Africa whom we are going to compete against so how do you expect us to match them?
“At the end of a season, about fifteen players for example will leave and you have another fifteen players replacements and you expect them to win the CAF Champions League or CAF Confederations Cup; it doesn’t work that way, my brother.
“We don’t retain our best legs and that has been the major problem; every year we start building instead of having our best legs and adding more. Such cannot work.”
When reminded that the players usually leave when they cannot be paid well, he agreed.
“When the highest you pay a player in Nigeria is N500,000 and some receive about N200,000, do you expect them not to leave?
“Who are Tanzania which Nigeria is bigger than in all areas? They pay a player something in the region of N4 million and N5 million and you expect our players to compete against them.
“Here clubs take four to five months to pay players a little sum and in the same month, a player playing in Tanzania is receiving his millions and you think it is magic that they are playing better.
“To a very large extent, I am not blaming the players but I think a lot of things are wrong and until we put it right, we may find it difficult to compete with them.
“How can you lose the bulk of your players in a season and the following season, you expect yourself to compete for CAF Champions League or CAF Confederations Cup?
“We are not lacking the best players but we need to have a system that will retain them here so that they build on their experiences and through that we can be winning this tournament.
“Pay the players well and I can tell you that they will stay and build a strong team that can challenge others for the trophies,” he said.
He praised Rivera United, saying they played beyond his imagination.
“To me, Rivers United played beyond my expectations; others may not agree with me but given some circumstances, they did well.”
