By Sportgister Ng
Football is a game of fun and emotions. However, it has turned many football enthusiasts from being a fan to fanatic.
Only few Nigerians are supporting Nigerian clubs because many feel that our league lacks enthusiasm.
It is preposterous that siblings, and at times support different teams.
The emotions make them arch-enemies at viewing centres especially when these teams are facing each other.
Curiously, many Nigerians have customized jerserys of their most cherished European clubs and would reject Sunshine Stars or Enyimba Jersey even when dished out at gratis.
A certain European club has been tagged as “Agbero” club as a result of the behaviours of most of their supporters.
It is disheartening that many Nigerians whose houses bordered various stadiums across the country have never stepped in to watch any match even when the state team is playing against top national or continental oppositions.
It was reported sometimes ago that a football fanatic committed suicide after his darling European team was beaten.
Similarly, another one was said to have gone to the viewing centre with a knife and he subsequently stabbed an opposing fan after a mild argument.
Some fanatics shot and killed Escobar after a mistake at a World cup competition.
Yakubu Ayegbeni was only lucky Nigerians did not take to extreme sports fanaticm when he lost an open goal during a world cup match.
Furthermore, many of these unpalatable and avoidable incidents have sent many Nigerians to their early graves.
It is an incontrovertible truth that every football fan wants his team to be winning all matches, ironically, no team can win all matches.
What Arsenal did years back by winning and drawing all the Premiership league matches are not feats that come every day. We should see sports as win some, lose some.
Any fan whose emotion cannot withstand banters and defeats should not go near a Nigerian Viewing Centre that are given names of standard stadium across the world.
It is high time Nigerians must redirect their attentions to our league. It is noteworthy that the Nigerian league had once been rated as the best in Africa and this was evident in the feats achieved continentally and internationally by teams such as Rangers, Eyinmba, 3SC formerly known as IICC and so on.
Furthermore, the League Management body (recently outlawed) or any other body replacing it must set a standard which is obtainable in advanced clime and should never be compromised.
Also, the Nigeria Referee Association should always sensitize its men never to bend the rules and maintain excellent standard on the pitch.
Finally, it is high time Nigerians reinvested their interests in the Nigeria league so that avoidable deaths at viewing centres could be brought to a halt.
