By Our Correspondent
As reactions continue to trail the federal government directive on the withdrawal of the League Management Company ( LMC)’s operational license, the former General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) now Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and victorious coach to the Japan 93 U-17 World Cup, Ambassador Fanny Amun has said that the Minister of youth and sports development, Sunday Dare has not done anything wrong to the nation’s football as a few may want the public to believe.
Coach Amun said every step Dare has taken so far in sports ministry is for the betterment of sports in Nigeria, particularly football.
He noted that when Dare molded the idea of a 10-year football master plan a lot of people kicked against it, but today, most of them have come to realize that the 10-year football master plan could be applicable to all the sports.
“When the President told Dare go and get me a 10-year football master plan they said he was going to interfer in football. Now the 10-year football master plan which many thought was for football alone could be applicable to all the sports, what they need to change is the rules because football and other sports have different rules.
“What all the administrators need to do now is to come up with immediate, medium and long term plans on how to implement it instead of reading meanings and calling it interference.
He said, Ministers of sports are game master general, so, its wrong for anyone or group of persons to think whenever the ministry is carrying out an oversight in a particular sports it is interference . It’s baffles me most time when football family always shout of interference whenever the government is excersing it oversight function
“As far as I know, those shouting or claiming that the government is interfering on football are themselves interfering because the person that own sports in this country is the person that owns the sovereignty of this nation which off course is the Commander in Chief (President). And if the president in his own wisdom appoints anybody as the minister, we must obey the person because he is the game master general.”
“As it concerns NFF, LMC the minister has not aired, those that speak contrary are the ones that have aired. It is an oversight function, the minister cannot but do the right thing because he is answerable to Mr president, we are the one answerable to him when it comes to sports because he is the game master general.
Meanwhile, Coach Amun said, almost all the presidential candidates for the NFF election are rushing to the minister for endorsement and they don’t see it as an interference, but after they have emerge, and the ministry want to carry out oversight function they will be claiming that they can do all things by themselves and whatever the ministry does to enhance the game they will turn it to be interference.
On the rewards by the federal government to the commonwealth and world championship athletes, he said he was not surprise that President Buhari rewarded the athletes because it is a tradition in Nigeria to reward athletes whenever they make the country proud in international scene.
Meanwhile, Amb. Fanny Amun called on the minister to look onto the issue of Harrison Jalla led National Association of Nigerian Footballers (NANF) which prompted a court injunction stopping September 30, NFF elections, saying that when a child is crying, you can’t ask him to stop crying rather you find out what is making the child to be crying.
He insisted that there is nothing that cannot be resolve, but frown at a situation some persons are claiming too big to find out what’s the problem and keep dragging the issue, saying it is quite unfortunate. But, he said he believes the minister will do the right thing on the issue at hands.
