Home grounds

Home grounds

By Clem Oluwole

A fortnight ago, the Express of Uganda made nonsense of the cry for the Rangers to play the first leg of the quarterfinals of Africa Cup of Champion Clubs soccer competition in Enugu when they held the Nigerian double champion club to a goalless draw.

Rangers’ critics found their feet and asked the Enugu boys and their advocates for Enugu Stadium (including myself) to bury their heads in shame. We did.

Thousands of Rangers’ followers (excluding myself) are still nursing the shock of the draw. The result of the Enugu match did not come to me as a shock because I have learnt not to underrate any team. Perhaps the Rangers did. My belief is that a club like the Express – champion club of Uganda – should have been treated as champions in every respect.

It is my firm belief that if the first leg was played in Lagos, the story could have been different. It is also my firm conviction that if the Rangers had failed to score in the first half like they did in Enugu, the Lagos soccer fans would have sung the Express to victory in the second half.

As it is, the Rangers still have a chance. This is because the Express, having held the Rangers to a goalless draw, would regard today’s encounter as a mere formality… hence over-confidence could be the hosts’ greatest undoing.

Rangers are good away. At least, they proved this throughout the competition last year. The fact that they made a shaky start this year does not mean that the club should be written off. After all, they started well by beating the Accra Great Olympics 2 – 0 in Accra, Ghana, last year but failed to capture the cup in the end.

I believe that the Rangers will make up for the shaky start today. I join the nation in wishing them the best of luck this afternoon.

Talking about the Rangers’ shaky start reminds me of the IICC’s battle against the unpredictable Rokana of Zambia. Soccer critics described the Shooting Stars’ 3 – 2 victory last Saturday at the National Stadium, Lagos, as very unimpressive.

Here, the issue of choice of venue comes in again. Prior to the encounter, there was a verbal battle between the Nigeria Football Association in Lagos and the Oyo/Ogun/Ondo “Parapo” as to where the encounter should be played. The “Parapo” lost the battle and the match was played in Lagos.

A similar situation arose last year during the final of Africa Cup of Champion Clubs soccer competition between the Rangers and the Hafia of Guinea. Until the last minutes, the Rangers insisted that the finals be played in Enugu. The National F. A. was unyielding. The outcome of the match is best forgotten.

The second leg of the quarterfinals between IICC and Rokana is not going to be played at Zambia’s National Stadium, but at Ndola – Rokana’s base.

However, one hopes that the Shooting Stars, now on a playing tour of East Africa, will put up a gallant fight to convince the “minority group” in Lagos that home ground counts much in a clubside competition.

Addressing a press conference in Jos yesterday, the chairman of the Plateau Football Association, Major Yemi Akinyanju, made a series of disclosures. Those ones that interest me most are the formation of a state team and the camping of the Mighty Jets at Plateau Bus Terminus Hotel in Jos.

Over the past few weeks, the Managing Patron of the Mighty Jets of Jos, Alhaji Isyaku Ibrahim, made two press statements, condemning the idea of the formation of state teams to vie for the National League soccer competition.

All things being equal, what baffles me here is this: How shall we present a club for the Africa Cup of Champion Clubs soccer competition which is competed for on club basis? Perhaps the National Sports Commission, believed to be the brain behind the idea, could throw more light on this.

The camping of the Plateau State Challenge Cup representatives at the Plateau Bus Terminus Hotel though temporary is not ideal in the first place.

The idea of camping is to keep players away from the rigour of their normal ways of life while preparing for a mission.

Imagine a player, after a hell of training, jostling his way with passengers at the terminus.

While thinking of a permanent camping place for the team, I will suggest a place like Keffi where the climatic condition is similar to that of Kaduna or Lagos where the Jets will have their first and subsequent engagements respectively, if things go fine.



(Culled from Saturday Commentary, first published on June 12, 1976).