Zamfara, Kaduna Disgrace Nigerian League

Friday Ekpo was a member the Super Eagles squad that took Africa by storm between 1989 and 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. He played his club fooball for Abiola Babes, Leventis United, Calabar Rovers and Shell Football Club of Gabon. He is now a coach at Akwa United. He spoke about his team’s poor outing in the Federation Cup at the Abeokuta Centre with Wale Joseph

Q: How do you feel coming back to M.K.O. Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta where you played so many matches in your playing days?

A: It’s great to be back here after so many years. I’m so much excited to come here.

Q: Your team, Akwa United crashed out of the competition without winning any match, what went wrong with them?

A: Thanks for that question. To be candid with you, nothing went wrong with the team and as you can see, this is not a bad team. Football at times cannot be predicted. We were just unlucky to be experiencing bad days. The truth is, I am very disappointed playing crashing out without winning a match. I must confess, I’m very sad.

But why are you disappointed, even in the league your team didn’t do too well, and this led to their relegation.

Yes, we were relegated not because we were the worst team in the league, but for the fact that Nigerian football is still in the dark with so many off-the-pitch dealings, which I must say, are not good for our football. Although we also had our own problems like poor motivation from the management and so many other things, we were not the worst team in the league.

Q: Your team were relegated because Zamfara won their last match against Kaduna United by 9-0 margin. How did you feel and what is your impression about that match?

A: Since Nigeria Football League (NFL) and Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have set up a committee to look into that match, I think we should wait and see the outcome of the probe. My position is that they should put a stop to all the ungodly things that have been happening in Nigerian football league, because if our league is rated third best in Africa, and a thing like this is happening, it is bound to give us a bad image. If such a thing is happening in the Pro-League or the Amateur League, it is understandable, definitely not the Premier League. All eyes are on us, yet, we don’t know it is shameful that a team that could not win a single match by 4-0 all through the season to now come out and win 9-0 in the last match of the season. I feel sad.

Q: Is there any thing wrong for a team to find their scoring form in the last match of the season?

A: Tell me how many goals did they score throughout the season. The team scored 33 goals in 34 matches, so scoring 9 in the last match is scandalous and very sad.

Q: But it was believed in some quarters that Akwa United were promoted to the Premier League the same way, winning their last match 13-0?

A: Let me tell you there is a big difference between the two games, one was in the Amateur League, while the other was in the Premier League. It’s very shameful, the authorities should look into it, whatever findings they come out with, Akwa United will take it in good faith and go back to the drawing board to draw up their programmes, work harder in order to come out strong and better next season.