INSIDE AFRICA...ABDUCTIONS, DOMITABLE LIONS, A SELECAO SNUB
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This week’s Inside Africa looks at the unfortunate abduction of the father of John Mikel Obi. And also, could the real reason Alex Song stamped Joey Barton be found back home?
The Mikel situationBy now, the workers manning the phones at the offices of God’s Time Transport Company are nerve-wracked. They have referred more calls to their bosses for handling in the past six days than at any other time they can remember. Penultimate Friday, ‘Oga Mike’ did not report to work in the morning. Later, they heard in the media that he could not be found.
Everyone at the company has always known that Michael Obi Snr is a ripe target for kidnappers, considering who he is, but unlike a lot of parents of famous African footballers, the father of Chelsea star Mikel is unassuming. Obi Snr could have chosen not to work, considering the successes of his superstar son. Yet he has regular 9-to-5 working hours like everyone else, sometimes staying late to make sure everything is being efficiently run. Like he always tells his workers and anyone who would listen, he has not forgotten his humble beginnings.
Obi Snr played for local side Gombe XI in an era when megabucks did not line footballers’ accounts. He had hoped to gain some recognition and at least make it into the national team. In the late 1960s, Jos state, where the Obi family has always lived, was embroiled in the Nigerian civil war that saw society grind to a halt. His football ambitions stopped there, and he turned to trading like so many of his peers. Eventually he became a tyre repairer and took care of his football-mad sons. The Chelsea star was born John Michael Obi Jnr but his name changed along the line, like so many footballers, during his ascent to the top.
Ever since the Obi family moved from the Apata area to the more affluent Rayfield suburb, security precautions had been stepped up, but the kidnappers had still outsmarted their victim. Mikel’s plea on Monday was broadcast worldwide - “My father is just an old man” - but at home, he has delegated his mother and elder brother, Emeka, to handle things as he’s been advised to stay in London. Emeka is a goalkeeper for Nigerian Premier League side Enugu Rangers and, although seemingly forgotten in all this because of his younger sibling’s global status, he’s suffering similarly.
It seems that when Oscar Wilde said “we’re all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars”, the kidnappers of Mikel’s father had a different interpretation. The kidnappers have contacted the family and have now made a “sizeable demand”, according to Mikel’s agents. Here’s hoping he’s found hale and hearty. And soon, for the sake of all involved.
“Our FA did what?”
Egypt said no to Brazil. Really, they did. The country was scheduled to play the Selecao on September 6 in Cairo - news that had whipped the Masr media into frenzy. The last time the two nations met, Egypt played some delectable attacking football but lost 4-3. That was in the Confederations Cup. Anticipation turned to anger and disappointment as the Egyptian FA announced that the date would not be favourable for the Pharaohs and decided not to go ahead with the match.
Following Brazil’s 3-2 friendly defeat by Germany, the CBF announced that it had rescheduled friendlies against Italy and Spain slated for this year to 2012, instead choosing Egypt, Costa Rica and Gabon for later in the year. The move was widely believed to have been taken to boost morale for the South Americans, having fared poorly under Mano Menezes so far. Egypt, who are virtually out of the 2012 African Nations Cup qualifiers, will play Sierra Leone away, either on September 2, 3 or 4, before hosting Niger in the final group game nearly a month later.
Ahmed Shobeir, the former football turned pundit, was not kind in his assessment of the authorities’ decision. Shobeir was interviewed on the Shabab Wal Riada (Youth and Sports) station and said: “How can EFA turn down such a valuable game with the silly excuse that the Egyptian team has a game against Sierra Leone? Don’t they realise that playing Brazil at this difficult time could boost tourism in the country?”
The federation defended the postponement, with president Zaher insistent that a qualifier must always take precedence over a friendly: “We have official international games at around the proposed date, which is why the EFA has turned down the proposed date and asked the Brazilians to choose another one.”
Instead, the Brazilians chose another team. On Tuesday, they contacted Ghana and asked the West Africans if they were interested in a friendly. The four-time African champions grabbed it and secured the date: on Wednesday morning, both FAs announced that they’ll be playing in London on September 5. The backlash in Egypt has not been pretty.
Cameroon’s cracks
The Indomitable Lions look anything but that these days. There is restlessness and instability everywhere you look. Ahead of crucial African Nations Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, the structure underpinning Cameroon’s national team looks shaky. In the past week, the country’s Under-20 team were knocked out of the ongoing World Youth Championships in Colombia. Their delegation was packed and ready to leave the Hotel de Pereira when they were informed that lodging bills had not been sorted.
The Cameroon federation had not wired in money to the hotel as previously agreed. After the team was held back for a few hours, the team manager, Junior Binyam, paid the outstanding €1,700 himself. The incident summed up preparations for this tournament as coach Martin Ndtoungou Mpille pointed out: “All our preparations were not up to scratch. Even though this is a junior competition, it is still a World Cup.”
Elsewhere, Arsenal midfielder Alex Song has had a pretty bad past month. His season did not start well at the weekend when he stamped on Joey Barton in the Premier League opener. The subsequent three-match ban would see him miss some crucial ties for his club. But why did he look so off-form and antsy in that game? Theories were quickly formulated back home in Cameroon that his distracted play had everything to do his court case.
As I write, Song’s lawyers will be representing him in a Cameroonian court in a case involving the alleged assault of some students in June. The students claimed when they sought the player’s autograph at a popular hangout in Douala, he reacted angrily and struck one of them, who “ended up in a drain”. If Song is found guilty, he could be jailed for two years.
After this case is done, Song’s lawyers will then grapple with a separate appeal for a fine imposed by the FA against their client last month. Song was fined $2,000 by FECAFOOT after he was found guilty of not greeting Samuel Eto’o in the build-up to their qualifier against Senegal. All these troubles considered, it is hardly surprising that Cameroon are currently third in their qualifying group, five points behind leaders Senegal and two behind DR Congo.
Courtesy: ESPN.com
Articles
INSIDE AFRICA...ABDUCTIONS, DOMITABLE LIONS, A SELECAO SNUB
Category: Sports Written by ** Hits: 600
This week’s Inside Africa looks at the unfortunate abduction of the father of John Mikel Obi. And also, could the real reason Alex Song stamped Joey Barton be found back home?
The Mikel situationBy now, the workers manning the phones at the offices of God’s Time Transport Company are nerve-wracked. They have referred more calls to their bosses for handling in the past six days than at any other time they can remember. Penultimate Friday, ‘Oga Mike’ did not report to work in the morning. Later, they heard in the media that he could not be found.
Everyone at the company has always known that Michael Obi Snr is a ripe target for kidnappers, considering who he is, but unlike a lot of parents of famous African footballers, the father of Chelsea star Mikel is unassuming. Obi Snr could have chosen not to work, considering the successes of his superstar son. Yet he has regular 9-to-5 working hours like everyone else, sometimes staying late to make sure everything is being efficiently run. Like he always tells his workers and anyone who would listen, he has not forgotten his humble beginnings.
Obi Snr played for local side Gombe XI in an era when megabucks did not line footballers’ accounts. He had hoped to gain some recognition and at least make it into the national team. In the late 1960s, Jos state, where the Obi family has always lived, was embroiled in the Nigerian civil war that saw society grind to a halt. His football ambitions stopped there, and he turned to trading like so many of his peers. Eventually he became a tyre repairer and took care of his football-mad sons. The Chelsea star was born John Michael Obi Jnr but his name changed along the line, like so many footballers, during his ascent to the top.
Ever since the Obi family moved from the Apata area to the more affluent Rayfield suburb, security precautions had been stepped up, but the kidnappers had still outsmarted their victim. Mikel’s plea on Monday was broadcast worldwide - “My father is just an old man” - but at home, he has delegated his mother and elder brother, Emeka, to handle things as he’s been advised to stay in London. Emeka is a goalkeeper for Nigerian Premier League side Enugu Rangers and, although seemingly forgotten in all this because of his younger sibling’s global status, he’s suffering similarly.
It seems that when Oscar Wilde said “we’re all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars”, the kidnappers of Mikel’s father had a different interpretation. The kidnappers have contacted the family and have now made a “sizeable demand”, according to Mikel’s agents. Here’s hoping he’s found hale and hearty. And soon, for the sake of all involved.
“Our FA did what?”
Egypt said no to Brazil. Really, they did. The country was scheduled to play the Selecao on September 6 in Cairo - news that had whipped the Masr media into frenzy. The last time the two nations met, Egypt played some delectable attacking football but lost 4-3. That was in the Confederations Cup. Anticipation turned to anger and disappointment as the Egyptian FA announced that the date would not be favourable for the Pharaohs and decided not to go ahead with the match.
Following Brazil’s 3-2 friendly defeat by Germany, the CBF announced that it had rescheduled friendlies against Italy and Spain slated for this year to 2012, instead choosing Egypt, Costa Rica and Gabon for later in the year. The move was widely believed to have been taken to boost morale for the South Americans, having fared poorly under Mano Menezes so far. Egypt, who are virtually out of the 2012 African Nations Cup qualifiers, will play Sierra Leone away, either on September 2, 3 or 4, before hosting Niger in the final group game nearly a month later.
Ahmed Shobeir, the former football turned pundit, was not kind in his assessment of the authorities’ decision. Shobeir was interviewed on the Shabab Wal Riada (Youth and Sports) station and said: “How can EFA turn down such a valuable game with the silly excuse that the Egyptian team has a game against Sierra Leone? Don’t they realise that playing Brazil at this difficult time could boost tourism in the country?”
The federation defended the postponement, with president Zaher insistent that a qualifier must always take precedence over a friendly: “We have official international games at around the proposed date, which is why the EFA has turned down the proposed date and asked the Brazilians to choose another one.”
Instead, the Brazilians chose another team. On Tuesday, they contacted Ghana and asked the West Africans if they were interested in a friendly. The four-time African champions grabbed it and secured the date: on Wednesday morning, both FAs announced that they’ll be playing in London on September 5. The backlash in Egypt has not been pretty.
Cameroon’s cracks
The Indomitable Lions look anything but that these days. There is restlessness and instability everywhere you look. Ahead of crucial African Nations Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, the structure underpinning Cameroon’s national team looks shaky. In the past week, the country’s Under-20 team were knocked out of the ongoing World Youth Championships in Colombia. Their delegation was packed and ready to leave the Hotel de Pereira when they were informed that lodging bills had not been sorted.
The Cameroon federation had not wired in money to the hotel as previously agreed. After the team was held back for a few hours, the team manager, Junior Binyam, paid the outstanding €1,700 himself. The incident summed up preparations for this tournament as coach Martin Ndtoungou Mpille pointed out: “All our preparations were not up to scratch. Even though this is a junior competition, it is still a World Cup.”
Elsewhere, Arsenal midfielder Alex Song has had a pretty bad past month. His season did not start well at the weekend when he stamped on Joey Barton in the Premier League opener. The subsequent three-match ban would see him miss some crucial ties for his club. But why did he look so off-form and antsy in that game? Theories were quickly formulated back home in Cameroon that his distracted play had everything to do his court case.
As I write, Song’s lawyers will be representing him in a Cameroonian court in a case involving the alleged assault of some students in June. The students claimed when they sought the player’s autograph at a popular hangout in Douala, he reacted angrily and struck one of them, who “ended up in a drain”. If Song is found guilty, he could be jailed for two years.
After this case is done, Song’s lawyers will then grapple with a separate appeal for a fine imposed by the FA against their client last month. Song was fined $2,000 by FECAFOOT after he was found guilty of not greeting Samuel Eto’o in the build-up to their qualifier against Senegal. All these troubles considered, it is hardly surprising that Cameroon are currently third in their qualifying group, five points behind leaders Senegal and two behind DR Congo.
Courtesy: ESPN.com