10th April, 2013
The Lagos State Challenge Cup otherwise known as the Lagos FA Cup kicked off on Monday at Agege Stadium without much excitement, glamour and the media hype which usually associated with a competition of that magnitude. This has left pundits of the game wondering where are those excitements of the good old days of the FA Cup in Lagos.
In the past, football fans in the city could not wait for Lagos FA Cup to kick off because of the star players that used to feature in the annual competition.
A week before the state’s Challenge Cup, there used to be public awareness for fans both in the print and broadcast media. The Lagos FA Cup was an avenue for the national teams coaches then to discover talents that usually played for the country especially in aged grade football competitions.
The likes of late Haruna Ilerika, the current Super Eagles’ Chief Coach, Stephen Keshi, Henry Nwosu,Yomi Peter, Taribo West and others were products of the FA Cup.
Apart from this, the Lagos FA Cup always drew people from various part of the state and even outside the state to the match venues to watch exciting soccer action that produced new stars and brought unknown clubs to the limelight.
The glamour and excitement that followed Lagos FA Cup in the past brought fans to various centres to watch the competition with passion.
Some of the fans who have been following the competition in the past even said that good officiating, organisation and media hype attract spectators and sponsors to show interest in the game but today the reverse is the case.
When P.M.NEWS Sports visited Agege Stadium on Monday when the FA Cup kicked, two matches were played on that day. It was surprising that there was scanty crowd that watched the opening matches. Apart from P.M.News’ reporter and his photographer, no sports journalist was on ground to cover the opening proceedingb of the tournament.
In terms of security, the organisers could not employ the service of Nigeria Police in case there was trouble on ground during or after the game.
Apart from this, the teams could not mobilise their supporters to cheer them to victory.
Only Messiah Football Club of Agege could be seen to have come with their supporters about 50 of them for the match.
In the past, if the defunct Stationery Stores were playing, the stadium was always full to capacity by fans of the Flaming, but today it is sad that teams come to match venue without their supporters club.
Commenting on how the Lagos FA Cup has lost its glamour over the years, Team Manager of Stationery Stores, Yomi Peter, said that one of the factors responsible for the dwindling fortunes of Lagos FA Cup and by extension the National Challenge Cup is that the numbers of Nigerian players seeking greener pastures on foreign land is growing on daily basis.
“It is true that Lagos FA Cup has lost its glamour because there are no star players that bring fans to the stadium. During my playing days at Stores, Lagos FA Cup used to be carnival like then because there was so much expectations from the participating teams as fans would came to the stadium to watch stars such the late Haruna Ilerika, my humbled self, and others who I cannot mention. But the question I want to ask is that where are the stars that fans want to watch now,” he queried.
Peter urged club owners to keep their players for at least three or four years before giving them permission to leave for Europe. He said if the players stay long in the club, it will help such club to go far in the FA Cup and fans will know such players and identify them in the FA Cup across the country.
Handsworth Coach, Tajudeen Olasunkanmi, said that bad officiating, lack of sponsors and poor organisation on the part of the organisers are affecting the competition negatively in the last few years.
“Of course Lagos Football Association should seek for sponsor for the tournament if they want to bring the lost glory back and they should look into officiating and reduce the registration fees from N85,000 to N40,000. If they can do all these, I think Lagosians will come and watch the competition,” he said.
A member of Lagos State Football Association, Wale Joseph, said the media have a role to play in the coverage of the tournament to bring the lost glory back. He said the organisers are trying their best, but blamed the emergence of foreign leagues being televised on daily basis at the detriment of Lagos FA Cup and Nigerian league.
“We observe today that our youth don’t show interest in Nigerian football again because they prefer to watch Premier League and Spanish League in view centres which is seriously affecting our league,” he said.
Messiah Coach, Anthony Oladayo said the organisers should introduce side attractions that will bring people to the stadium, adding that teams should play attractive football which the spectators would be loved to watch.
A total of 42 teams registered for this year’s Lagos FA Cup. Tranzeet lost their first game 0-1 to CMD United, while Messiah FC beat Christ Ambassadors 3-2 on Monday.
—Sunday Akintoye