Lessons of UEFA Champions League

IN far away Moscow on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, the world stood still in a quest to witness the eagerly awaited deciding match to settle the hotly debated argument involving the superiority between the two top English Barclays Premiership clubsides, Manchester United and arch-rivals Chelsea - two sides engaged in a rivalry which has captured the imagination of the football world.

For the past four years, both have divided equally the spoils of the annual Premiership race, with Chelsea winning in the 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 seasons, while Manchester United won the last two seasons. But easily the most hotly contested race was the just concluded season, in which both clubs were deadlocked at 84 points with one match to go. Going to the wire, Manchester United, which enjoyed a superior goals difference, needed to beat Wigan Athletic Club, and the title would be theirs.

Chelsea, on their part, needed to defeat Bolton Wanderers and hope that United would stumble by either losing or drawing their last match. Playing their matches at the same time, United beat Wigan 2-0 while Chelsea were forced to a draw in the last minute by their opponents as the "Red Devils" of Manchester United re-emerged as winners of the title.

Since both clubs were gunning for a double victory in the Premiership and Champions League and were locked in a two-way battle, there was the possibility of one winning the double, the two splitting the spoils, or one club going empty handed. This was the interesting scenario which would be decided in Moscow, where both contested the final of the UEFA Champions League.

In the last 24 hours, much had been written and said about the match in just about every known newspaper, magazine, and other media of information around the world, including Nigeria, where the English Premiership is almost better followed than even Great Britain.

Such is the nationwide followership of the Premiership that a Nigerian, who hardly knows the participating teams in his own country's local League, would easily recite not only the names of all English Premiership clubsides but the complete line-up of English clubs and the Premiership's leading scorers.

Little wonder that, in the run up to Wednesday's Champions League final in Moscow, many Nigerians took bets with their cars, other valuables and cash. In many neighbourhoods in Lagos and other big cities, many men and women bought social uniforms meant to celebrate their favourite club's victory on the day. Fat cows and choice rams were noticed tied down to celebrate and drinks aplenty were available.

Meanwhile, Moscow's well armed security personnel were battle ready to maintain peace, which has been known to be a problem at events attended by most English football fans or hooligans. As it turned out, the much anticipated day came and went, with little or no reported breach of the peace. The quality of play in the tense and exciting match, was high as the two sides were deadlocked with one goal apiece in the regulation 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra time, leading to a penalty shoot-out which ultimately was won by Manchester United 6-5.

While congratulating the English FA for packaging a well-organised and controversy-free Premiership, and the UEFA, Europe's governing body of football, for also organising a near-perfect season-long Champions League, and the UEFA Cup for that matter, some lessons must be learnt by those charged with the responsibility of organising football at the local level in Nigeria.

We must learn a lesson from the English FA authorities who have succeeded in taking the Premiership from the fourth place in quality and economic value, behind the French League, the Spanish League and the Italian League, to the most sought after league (by the world's best players) in the universe.

The success of the English FA has proved beyond reasonable doubt that football has gone beyond mere recreation, and in fact has become very big business which a serious-minded country must strive to invest in, in quest of an improved economy creating more employment, and giving more of our youths the opportunity to pursue a much more rewarding profession than is available presently in our quasi-professional football in our local league. If a country like Sudan can organise a League which attracts great players from all over Africa and beyond, Nigeria can do a lot more if our authorities put their mind to it.

Nevertheless, it is curious that our much-derided ( for good reasons) local league still continues to produce good footballers who find the nearest opportunity to go abroad and join the legion of underpaid Nigerian would-be stars.

It is our opinion that, just as we must in other spheres of human endeavour, the challenge is for the country to provide a more enabling environment for the nurturing and promotion of the country's many talents. Our nation ought to define itself through our football administration. As the greatest footballer of all time, Brazil's Pele (real name Edson Arantes de Nascimento) has been saying for ages, "a country's national team is as good as its local league". Nigeria should not be an exception. We hope that, in the nearest future, when a Nigerian child is asked which is his favourite club, he would name one of Nigeria's club-sides and not Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, AC Milan, or Barcelona.