With Mike Adeyemi
Amusa Adisa is a former goalkeeper trainer and assistant coach of
Super Eagle. In this interview with MIKE ADEYEMI he speaks on
modalities for sports development in Kwara State as well as the need
for the revival of Ilorin Emirates League. Excerpts:
Tell us briefly about your days as a player?
You know those days during our time as a player, we played purely for
the passion of the game. I grew up in Ghana playing football. I
schooled there and I later came back to Nigeria.
I played for my home town, Ogbomoso before I left for Osogbo. While at
Osogbo, I joined the police service and later moved to Ibadan, from
there to Lagos.
While playing for the police in Ibadan, I was transferred to Lagos. I
later came back to Ibadan to join Cocoa Research Institutes of Nigeria
Football Club. From there, I moved to WNDC which later became IICC
which is now known as 3SC. That is where I hanged my boots as a
goalkeeper in 1976.
How would you compare playing then to now in terms of financial benefits?
Well, as I said, then we played for the love of the game. Monetary
inducements was not attached to it much. Because I remember while I
was playing I was equally working.
Football then wasn’t professional. In fact it was purely amateur.
Gradually Football changed to professional side in Nigeria. We were
not placed on remunerations, but we were paid our salaries as at when
due.
Some sports analysts have argued that football development has
recessed in Kwara, how would you react to this?
It has been on for a while, but have we really put the right mechanism
in place which would propel the game in its right course?
Sadly, there is no more league matches in Kwara State, apart from the
National League. We must first address that.
In those days, we had Ilorin league, but now it is in oblivion. We
have to revive it.
What is the way out of the defect you have mentioned?
The only way out is that there are certain things to be put in place
like Ilorin Emirate League, Offa League, Oro League. All these leagues
must come into play.
If these leagues can be revisited, I think it would rectify many
challenges affecting Football development in the state.
Football administration as we know is capital intensive, how do you
think the solutions you listed can be achieved?
It is quite possible if we are desirous to do it. For instance, if we
ask football clubs to come and obtain form and register, they will
comply such fund. And from there, corporate bodies and individuals can
come in.
Though, infrastructural wise, there is deficit, but in the interim we
can be using schools to play our local leagues. The government can
come in to put facilities in place, but running football is not an
exclusive right of any government.
The Kwara State Government gives subvention to the state FA whose duty
is to oversee the management of such fund.
Are you saying the current board of Kwara FA have live up to the task
in this regard?
So far, I think the Chairman of Kwara Football Association is trying
in this regard. He has talked to people at the local government level
on the need to revive grassroots sports.
I think his efforts need to be highly commended.
What is your take on the recent procurement of Delta Force slot by
Kwara United?
Well, I think the management knew what they wanted before going for
the bargaining. If it works out well, I think it is a good deal.
If they can sit tight, I want to belief they can meet up with the
points deficit. The crop of players the club have on ground , I think
they can prosecute NPFL matches contrary to the phobic the general
public seems to envisage in the deal.
But, to me, it would have been better if the swap deal was done before
the commencement of the league.
Is going back to grassroots the panacea to sports development in the state?
We have been saying it repeatedly, but it is unfortunate that much
attention is not placed on it.
Many raw talents abound at the grassroots, but till now in Kwara we
dont’ have an accurate database in place to know the numbers of our
local talents.
I think the state FA has a lot to do in this regard.
