By Daily Sports Nigeria on July 14, 2023
Air Peace CEO, Allen Onyema, firmly believes that the secondary school football teams of the 1980s would triumph over the present-day Super Eagles if they were to meet on the pitch, The PUNCH reports.
The Nigeria senior team has only won four of their nine games under new manager Jose Peseiro, losing the remaining five, with the side scoring 18 goals and conceding 15.
Perhaps, the recent results may have influenced Onyema’s assertion.
“Those days used to be very tough. In fact, secondary school games in those days used to be tough. I remember when I played for Government College, Ughelli, they even killed one of our school boys in Agbarho (Delta State). It used to be tough in those days,” Onyema told The PUNCH.
“Let me tell you, secondary school teams in the 70s will beat our national team of today. The present national team will be nowhere near the secondary school teams of yesteryear. I’m not talking about clubs, those days, secondary school teams were unlike these days,” he said.
The 59-year-old lamented the dearth of sporting facilities in schools.
“Today, secondary schools are now in two-storey buildings, no compound, no playground. Everybody is protective of their child, nobody allows the child to go out again to experience the street life,” Onyema added.
He advocated for the use of football as a means to generate employment opportunities and called on the government to prioritise sports.
“We should use football to create jobs. I call on this government to look into sports, if they can invest in it and make the place safe for people to go and recreate on weekends, we will bring back that followership. It will still happen again,” the entrepreneur said.
Source Punch Ng
Posted July 14, 2023
You may also like...
Rafael Benitez fined £60,000 for referee comments
Shanghai Shenhua Want £20 Million For Ighalo
Golf: US Open Postponed Due To Coronavirus: Report...
Maradona appointed manager in Mexico
Liverpool Fight Back To Beat Aston Villa, End...
Barca President Won’t Rule Out Griezmann Departure

Cameroon friendly to shape WAFCON squad — Madugu
Fury sends Joshua support, turns down bout after tragedy
Wolves secure rare win to dent Villa’s bid for Champions League place
Solaja re-emerges BFN South East rep
Usman makes welterweight title claim
I cried day I got Super Eagles call-up – Fago
Osimhen strikes down stubborn Juve to book round 16 spot
Ogazi wins SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Falcons begin training ahead Lionesses clash
Newcastle cruise 9-3 into UCL last 16, Leverkusen dump out Olympiacos
Finidi wary of difficult Barau test
Pillars coach optimistic of NPFL survival
Rangers International going, going . . . (63,582 views)
Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (54,890 views)
Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (52,811 views)
Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (52,433 views)
Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (52,349 views)
Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (52,263 views)
Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (52,139 views)
NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (51,684 views)
Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (50,855 views)
Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (49,380 views)
Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (47,769 views)
John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (47,246 views)