Lessons From 2014 World Cup

The race for the coveted World Cup trophy which began in Brazil on 12 June ended Sunday night when Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 to lift the trophy. The tournament offers important lessons for sports administrators not just in Nigeria but in Africa as a whole.

Generally, it was obvious that the teams that prepared very well performed well at the World Cup, while countries that failed to prepare well did not only crash out in the early stage, but the way they exited from the tournament gave football fans something to worry about.

Right from the beginning of the tournament, it was clear that Germany, Argentina, Holland and hosts, Brazil would  go far in the tournament not because of their football pedigree in World Cup but because their preparation towards their qualifiers and friendly matches clearly demonstrated their serious quest to win the tournament.

The German players were eventually crowned the new world champions after defeating two time World Cup champions, Argentina 1-0 through extra time goal from Mario Goetze.

A close look at the two finalists, Germany and Argentina, showed that they had one thing in common. Firstly, both countries had players that have been playing together in the last six years at the national teams. Secondly, most of their players are playing in top clubs in Europe and another factor that worked for both countries is that they have developmental programmes and good football administration. These qualities really helped the countries to go far in the tournament.

The reason African countries failed to go far at the tournament is not far-fetched. It was because their football officials shortchanged their players before and during the World Cup. Countries like Ghana and Cameroon failed to progress to the next stage because their football administrators failed to pay their players FIFA appearance fee. After Ghana’s players boycotted training in protest at not receiving their money, the country’s government flew $3 million cash in a plane to Brazil. FIFA Secretary General, Jerome Valcke described the situation as “sad”.

A few days before the World Cup kicked off, players from Cameroon protested that they will not fly to Brazil from their camp based in Austria until their football officials pay them all the money owed them. There was also a bonus row in Nigeria’s camp at the World Cup as Super Eagles players prepared for the second round game against France. The players missed a day’s training as a result of non-payment of their bonuses by officials of Nigeria Football Federation. It took the intervention of Nigeria’s sports minister, Tamuno Danagogo, who pleaded with the players before they returned to training. These were unnecessary distractions that cost the African teams the vital opportunity to advance in the tournament.

For African countries to go far in the World Cup in future,  a mundane issue as non-payment of bonuses to players should not even arise. Besides, players should begin adequate preparation long before the tournament kicks off. African countries need to engage in regular developmental programmes to groom younger talents for the national teams ahead of every World Cup. Enough of the fire brigade approach which has become the way of life for African countries.

African countries hardly learn from the crass failure arising from this negative approach every four years. It is time for African players to take their rightful place in their various clubs in Europe. It is unfortunate that most of the African players paraded at the last World Cup hardly play in top clubs in Europe. Some of them were benched in their various clubs, while some of them played in lower division leagues. Above all, football administrators in Africa should find a way to be transparent with national players instead of insulting them in the media and pilfering their bonuses during a crucial tournament such as the World Cup.