AFRICA: CAN WE PRODUCE ANOTHER GOLDEN GENERATION?
I had just arrived in Switzerland in to play professional football when Nigeria won the Atlanta Olympics gold medal, with some of my friends in that team. Nigeria was revered and feared going into the next year, both in Africa and Europe.
George Opong Weah (European player of the year ’95) was plying his trade in Milan/Monaco at the time. Sam Ossei Kuffour of Ghana was stopping strikers at Bayern Munich, while Yahaya, Akonnor, Yaw Preko and Tanko weree doing the honours in Germany for Ghana and there was Anthony Yeboah of Ghana taking the premiership by storm with Leeds and winning the canon ball in Germany.
Nwankwo Kanu was being previewed alongside the great Ronaldo of Brazil as the next superstars of world football, with the quote ‘who would be the next world player of the year?’
Jayjay Okocha was firing on all cylinders alongside Ronaldinho in PSG, Sunday Oliseh was in-between Dortmund and Juventus, Finidi George and Kanu were winning champions league and Dutch titles with Ajax, Victor Ikpeba was the king of Monaco, Taribo West was leading the charge at InterMilan, Jonathan Akpoborire was challenging for the cannon ball in the Bundesliga and Daniel Amokachi was terrorising defences in England while Rasheed Yekinni was the king in portugal and Celestine Babayaro was at Stamford bridge. Emmanuel Ammunike was plying the colours of FC Barcelona, Ike Shorunmu was leading the charge between the posts in Switzerland, Mutiu Adepoju was headmaster at Santander in Spain and every top game you watched, there was a Nigerian or African superstar starring on the big stage.
South Africa had Lucas Radebe and Mark Fish showing how it was done in England, John Mosheoue was impressive in Turkey, Shaun Bartlett and Phil Masinga impressed in England while Rigobert Song was shinning in France.
There was Hanny Ramzy of Egypt emerging as one of the top defenders in the Bundesliga, Joel Bwalya of Zambia was a force in Brugges, Moussa Said and Tasfouat of Algeria were plying their trade in France with Auxxerre and Metz and there was goalkeeper Alain Gouamene flying between the posts in France.
From Rabah Madjer, Klaus Bwayla, Youssof Fofana, Roger Milla, Antoine Bell and to the generation above, these players truly inspired me and my generation to play professional football.
Through the years we have had Moustapha El-Hadji, Patrick Mboma, Samuel Etoo, Abedi Pele, Yaya Toure, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Kolo Toure, Bouba-Diop, Frederick Kanoute, Adebayor, Seydou Keita, Gyan, Ayew, Alex Song, Mikel Obi, among others.
Africa had so much talent, that Pele tipped us to win the World Cup by the turn of the new millennium, but as of today we have moved further away from winning it and one would struggle to see the cup wrestled from the big five: Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Spain, France.
So What went wrong?
In recent years, the names in top clubs seem to continue to dwindle in numbers with only and Aubameyang, Sadio Mane, Salah Mohammed and Riyad Mahrez. Add Moses at Chelsea really and you’ll struggle to find top performers in numbers as it used to be a decade or two ago.
What is the problem with Africa football?
Why have we failed in recent years to produce outstanding talents for the elite teams in European football (the mirror for world football)?
Where are the George Weahs? Abedi Peles? Anthony Yeboahs? Okochas? Kanus?
Is there a dearth of talents in African communities?
Is it a lack of development?
Is it infrastructures that are missing?
Or is it management, or dare I say lack of good management?
Perhaps it is the lack of funds to develop talents that is stunting growth?
Or should we just admit that there are no naturally gifted talents anymore?
Or has Europe caught up with Africa, by unearthing talents in soccer factories called club academies?
Re: AFRICA: CAN WE PRODUCE ANOTHER GOLDEN GENERATION?Africa as a footballing continent witnessed the explosion of talents during the 90s’. The years 1992 to 1998 perhaps remain indelible. Talents of different kinds blossomed and spackled the Euro space with some scintillating football artistry. . The junior tournaments weren’t particularly great for a country like Nigeria, which had dominated the African space, of course with the exception of the class of 1993 at the U17 World Cup which held in Japan and had produced Kanu, Oruma, Blessing, Oparaku, the Babayaros’, et tal, it was Ghana that practically dominated the under age competitions in that era-the 90s’… For a continent that had produced the likes of Hadji , Patrick Mboma the ‘bomber’,Abedi Ayew (arguably my most talented African player of that era),Samuel Eto, free scoring Rashidi Yekini Mark Fish, Lucas Radebe,Ghana’s Odatey Ni Lamptey,Sunday Oliseh,Jay-jay Okocha and a host of other greats African greats,it is indeed not a great time for African football in terms of talent. What therefore could have gone wrong with the production of quality African talents that had served as the orb to major European football arenas?
Africa must go back to school sports….. The importance of education and sports cannot be over emphasized. We have refused to place emphasis on school sports in Africa. Talents, when ‘hunted’ in schools are able to be monitored and harnessed in the proper way. The lack of methodical ways in harnessing our talents in African is one great problem for the dearth of talents. A lot of Nigerian players cut their teeth from school sports. The great Principals’ cup of old was one veritable avenue for the discovery of talents. The unending completions between Igbobi College, Baptist Boys, and St’Finbarrs College can never to be forgotten. Henry Nwosu, Stephen Keshi, to mention a few were products of school sports. School sport is key.
Grass-root development……Lack of grass root competitions and improper coordination of the available tournaments is another reason for the disappearance of talents in Africa. The government and private investors always pay lip service to grass root development of talents. Unfortunately, the bulk of African stars emanate from the grass root. A situation where basic training and footballing education is lacking will certainly not make a footballer ‘complete’. Have we ever wondered why German footballers play like professionals all the time? It’s simple! They go throw processes that ensure that they turn out well-trained sportsmen/women. Governments must invest in grass root sports. Governments must give incentives to private sector operators who intend to help in grass root sports.
Age Cheats… Africa countries should endeavour to eradicate/bring to barest minimum age cheats. Why do we always find it difficult to transit/transfer our successes at the under age tournaments to successes at senior tournaments? Nigeria and Ghana are the greatest culprits here. The win ‘at all cost’ syndrome at junior tournaments rather than using those tournaments as developmental process is one reason why our talents are diminishing at European footballing front lines.
Discipline….. The reason why most players of the 90s’ succeeded could as well be attributed to their high level of personal and professional discipline. A player who is willing to learn is bound to succeed. Most African players of this generation aren’t learning well. ‘Just get to Europe’ is their mind set. Therefore ending up in Malta to play semi pro football does not matter. As long as the cash comes in, and its enough to do ‘something’ back home, that’s all that matters. With such mind set, African players are comfortable just grazing the third tier of European football. That mind set must change to be able to compete with other journey men from other continents.
The talents abound, we can obviously do better.
Olasunmbo Ogunranti wrote from sumboogunranti@yahoo.com
Sumbo this is a fantastic view to the African youth football problem and I agree totally with you.
Where are the St finbarrs, St gregories, Baptist Academies, Igbobi college football graduates. It surely starts from school sports and likewise as you pointed out with the germans, we must have a document that every state must have that would be a blueprint for development.
What about coaches? Can we raise the bars with NIS? Can we have a system that funnels great coaches? Surely we are not short of armchair pundits all over Africa, starring a Top tv screens and analysing games from viewing centres.
And investments? Yes we need more in the private sector but they must be incentified to make that happen.
With the issue of players playing everywhere just to ‘get out of Nigeria’ I agree we are losing so many talented players monthly to this sort of football self exile. Poverty is a crucial factor with this as a lot just want to be able to travel out and seek greener pastures. The love of the game becomes second nature when reality dawns in one of the towns of Europe where they realise that they have been thrown into a sub standard or semi professional or even at times no club.
Football authorities in africa must come together and act to prevent this exodus of youth players to ‘destination-nowhere’
Thank you for your comments and please do come again