If you didn’t doze off while watching TV or texting your acquaintances on WhatsApp, there usually is that brief moment when you’re lying down all by yourself and you can ruminate over the events of the day. Those or perhaps the plans for tomorrow. Right before sleep sets in and you give in to him. That is what I have defined as “The Alone Moment”.
Your dictionaries could define differently but that is what I define as an alone Moment. A moment when although my partner is lying down beside me, she’s not privy to my thoughts. And tonight, I do have quite alot to chew over. Chiefly, my beloved club- Enyimba International. And this post today is simply on how we have been at the mercy of bizarre and deeply troubling administrations.
Despite our tag as the biggest, most successful club in the Country and one of the big wigs in Africa, Enyimba has been run like a roadside football academy. The club is capable of alot more than what it has presented to the Nigeria’s football space. The previous administration no doubt, helped engineer the success on the pitch but off the green grass, you are looking at a Giant that has been nothing but mediocre at best.
First, our stadium. With the success we have achieved in the better part of the last 2 decades, Enyimba’s is not in the top ten stadiums in Nigeria. I mean both the playing surface and the stadium infrastructure. The stands are rickety and old. The surroundings underneath the stands is left to your imagination such that CAF deemed it unfit to host Continental football this season.
Deservedly so, Enyimba should have with its financial potential funded or rather attracted stakeholders that can fund the building of a world class facility. But, no. We are waiting on the Government. This wait was what the previous administration oversaw that got the club only able to point to 2003 and 2004 as the pinnacle of its success. Income for the club- player sales, gate takings, corporate sponsorships, employment opportunities and giving back to the community have not once been mentioned in the same sentence as Enyimba.
Imagine this – A world class stadium- something akin to the Nest of Champions in Uyo. With proper offices and facilities for both playing and coaching personnel. I dare say Enyimba can get in 60,000 fans per match day. A club with the right model can pay its bills and maybe depend on the Government for 50% “Sugar Daddy handouts” for a 5 or 10 year period and then with agressive marketing and right platforms, set things in place to foot it’s bills.
The little voice of doubt in your mind goes – Where will the monies come from? The club can generate income for itself if we have administrators that pretend to care. The question is – Do “club owners” have a proper vision for the clubs they manage? My friend will always say, “If you build it, they will come”. The brands will come – both local and foreign. How about Match Day Experience? I tell you what, Fans will pay more if they get quality match day experience.
Let’s talk about Enyimba fans outside the country. Can their love and passion for the club be directed toward producing resources for the club? Can Enyimba get 100,000 humans from all over the world who can be monthly subscribers. Question is – What value are you giving them in return? If 100,000 fans pay N1000 per month that’s One hundred Million Naira coming into the club every month. But hey, there’s no money, yea?
The trigger for this post today is the news that Enyimba is traveling by road to Maidugiri. That’s about 2 days of traveling. That’s over 6,000 miles and yet when they arrive there, we expect them to light up the skies and get all 3 points or maybe a draw. With the state of the roads in Nigeria, how are we sending out Enyimba International players to travel by road all the way to Maidugiri?
Let’s talk about United Nigeria Airways. We proudly wear their logo on our sleeves and splash it on every graphic we produce, but the relationship feels more like we’re running a charity drive than a partnership. We can’t even fly to Maiduguri—Maiduguri, mind you! So, tell me: if we can’t get closer to cut the long-haul journeys, what exactly are they doing for us? It’s like advertising a luxury flight service and then catching a bus to the match.
We’ve all seen the logos—Stake.com plastered across the front, Triomarkets holding it down on the back. Crunchies and Roots Restaurant jumped in too, selling tickets for the family stand like it’s a local BBQ event. All well and good, but let’s face it—have we really squeezed the juice out of these deals? Be honest, if you were Stake.com or Triomarkets, would you renew your contract? Really?
It takes visionary leadership to make a difference at the helm of a football club in today’s world. We see teams all over Europe and how well they are run. They are not better than us for funding opportunities. Only a blind man will look at the club of Enyimba’s pedigree and argue that we shouldn’t be head and shoulders above every other team in the country.
We can all pretend like nothing can be done until the day arrives when someone with a vision steps in and writes their names in the annals of true difference makers. Till then y’all can keep wallowing on in mediocrity.
Back tomorrow
‘EnyimbaEnyi
