Joe Apu
Former Nigeria Football Association (NFA) board member, Fan Ndubuoke, has raised concerns over the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) eggheads to leave out the entire South East in the list of proposed host cities for the proposed 2020 Women’s World Cup.
Ndubuoke, who is also a former President of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) in a chat with Daily Sunsport, described the decision of the nation’s football governing body to ignore the South East among the cities selected across the country considered for the hosting of the proposed FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup next year, as “most unfortunate, unacceptable, very questionable and, above all, insensitive.”
He said: “It raises doubt on fairness, equity and sincerity of purpose in the entire bidding exercise given the fact that one zone alone, out of the six geo-political zones in the country, was allotted three cities, namely Benin, Uyo and Asaba, while the South West was given two slots (venues) in Lagos alone.
“Agreed that some parts of the country may not be favourably disposed towards female participation in sports, the South East is, certainly, home to women’s football. That such a zone was not considered by the NFF and the Bid Committee is unacceptable. That the South East, which has been the nation’s recruitment ground for female footballers in the country since the commencement of the game, was suspiciously omitted in the provisional choice of cities to host the proposed FIFA Women’s World Cup, is unfair and unjustifiable.”
He further explained that the South East, over the years, has produced more than 70 percent of national team players in all tiers of the female national football teams.