Stakeholders in football have been called upon to wade in and stop the on-going charade in Nigerian football, which has seen the country slide gradually out of relevance in the round leather game.

The Chairman, Oyo state chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN, Mr Salem Akindele-Rock made the call in a statement, issued in Ibadan. He described the on-going trial of the Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia as a ‘Comic Relief’ being used by the spoilers of the nation’s football to amuse themselves at the expense of majority of Nigerians.

Mr Akindele-Rock stressed that the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for next year’s Nations Cup, should not be used to hang the coach, adding that no-one could be expected to perform magic in the kind of atmosphere which the nation’s football has degenerated.

According to him, “The Super Eagles debacle is a microcosm of the low ebb to which football has sunk in Nigeria, due to the antics of the leeches feeding fat on the sector” adding that “Siaisa has already
shown a commitment to re-build the national team, if giving the time to do so, this is not the time to rock the boat, to amuse the so-called powers-that-be in Nigerian football”.

The SWAN chairman stated that it was unfortunate that the country was yet to fully imbibe the principle of accountability, adding that those trying Siasia should have been the first to hand-in their resignation
letters for failing the trust reposed in them. He maintained that “the time had come for all stakeholders, including past and present football players, coaches, administrators, corporate organisations, including former and present sponsors of football, the media and policy makers to rise up to the challenge of saving the nation’s football from extinction.

“The failure of the Eagles to fly to the Nation’s Cup has offered another avenue for those who matter in Nigerian football to come round and chart a course to make the game matter once again in national
discourse and in the minds of Nigerians, rather than the lip service paid to the sector in the past”.

He stated. “We should therefore not use it as an occasion to witch-hunt Siasia or the players as it was done to others in the past, but make use of the golden opportunity to re-direct our focus and channel out a collective agenda for the growth of Nigeria's number one unifying game”, added Mr Akindele-Rock.