Nigerians are looking forward to the FIFA World Cup. Everywhere you go the discussions are full of a global football championships that will bring excitement and moments of relief from the state of the country.
Fans all over the world, like Nigerians, are making travel plans and saving up monies they will spend at the numerous locations. The excitement is in the air and it is hoped that this will be an exciting and entertaining tournament than ever before.Just coming off a great tournament in Egypt where Ghana once again did Africa proud, everyone is planning a year ahead and on heading to South Africa.
Pause.
There is one other tournament before that isn’t there? The FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria? Is it still happening with 4 days to go? It does not look or feel like it.
Nigerians may feel there are more pressing issues to contend with than some silly football tournament of ‘kids’ from all over the world running around and sweating it out against each other in the Tropics.
Some would be forgiven for thinking there is no tournament at all.
The newswires are filled with Probes, Queries, Court Injunctions, Arrested Bankers and Public Dissatisfaction. The streets are devoid of any signs of a global tournament while the airwaves have the usual cacophony of adverts for painkillers, seminars and government announcements, symptomatic of everyday life. And the only signs of an important international event are expensive and expansive street pole adverts of South Africa’s 2010 World Cup.
Most Nigerians cannot tell what dates he Under-17 World Cup will take place without referring to some other sources. Yet again Nigeria is faced with the possibilities of embarrassment on a global scale.
Watching the Final match of the Egypt championship with all the most important sporting dignitaries seated, a large turnout even though the host nation was not playing in the final match, colours, drums, flags and the beautiful game.
Watching the incessant plugging of the one-year away tournament to hold in South Africa; the preparations, the labour strikes; the excitement and expectations of small business and the people; the government spokespersons ‘selling’ South Africa to the world; the tourism advertisements that hope to generate high revenues for the industry; the technical preparations at all venues and fans’ parks; the musical events to accompany the World Cup, all make you wonder why we in Nigeria never seem to take opportunities when they present themselves.
Will there be an economic boost for the local economies of the locations for the Under-17 World Cup or even the nation as a whole? Highly unlikely, when you consider the potential to the economy that a global event such as this presents.
The marketing of Nigeria and Nigerians has always been a great failure. The re-branding of Nigeria is an ongoing exercise in beating previous records of failure to see how much more worse each attempt can be.
Nigerians are passers-by in their own country many a time. The world takes these events and opportunities more seriously than we the nation that has the greatest opportunity.
The jury is still out on mediocre issues such as MRI scans and Carbon-Dating of players for our own team.
Jack Warner, FIFA Vice-President, is still miffed at what he sees as the lack of preparedness and uncertainty surrounding the upcoming tournament.
The LOC is complaining about a lack of funds and is still seeking sponsors.
Somebody somewhere is preparing to set up a committee to probe the ‘failure’ of the whole project, at least that will be a return to business as usual with our leadership.
All this, 4 days to go.
The efforts of progressive thinking leadership like in Lagos State may well count for nothing other than an expansive budgetary expenditure written off in the name of being a host venue. The stadiums may be empty for most of the tournament and the expectations of revenue may have to be discarded. Just another project funded and expended for the records.
No one seems to have an idea what is going on in other states and at other venues. News is scarce and the LOC website is scarily empty of any update news.
4 days to go and we have no idea which national teams are coming of their compositions. We have no idea who the likely star players of any country will be except a certain Stanley Okoro, for nigeira, whom it is claimed is 17 years old or under.
Now that is something special when you firstly look at the chap and then are informed he has played for both Bendel Insurance and Heartland football clubs in Nigeria already. At 17? In Nigeria? When did he start playing big time football? At age 5? Another debate for another day.
When will we wake up, being the Giant of Somewhere, to the vast and immense opportunities in marketing and preparedness for globally visible and non-governmental gatherings that sports and other events provide?
When will we wake up to the opportunities for maximizing brand equity on these sorts of platforms?
When will we gather those who are truly capable of delivering substance and quality for the country rather than those who have ‘connections’ being ‘selected’ to sit around, compose contrived budgets and deliver substandard projects or do nothing at all?
Can someone remind me of what the promo adverts for the Under-17 World Cup looks or sounds like, if and when they have ever seen one?
Certainly not on our streets because MTN, who makes an incredible amount of money in Nigeria on a daily basis, finds it more important to promote their home country South Africa, a whole year ahead. And when will our own indigenous companies wake up to support this nation, if ever at all?
Too many ‘Whens’ and a whole lot of ‘Ifs’.
For now, we remain fully engaged with the preparations to spend hard-earned monies for two whole months in South Africa come 2010.
What do you think?
