The year 2012 has come and gone, and football lovers around the country have savoured with excitement, every moment of happiness the game brought, and also endured with distaste, the sadness and disappointment that it brought with it. As the saying goes, ‘you win some and lose some’.

In Kwara state however, there were many twists and turns in football as the year went on, from the average performance of its clubsides in the Nigerian Premier League to its hosting of the Under-20 national team, the Flying Eagles, and other events. Knowing though, that there is a crop of people saddled with the responsibility of taking the round leather game to greater heights in Ilorin, questions such as “how did the game fare in 2012?”,”how could it get better in subsequent years?”, arise. Questions which this article attempts to answer.

The year in review

The death of the country’s topscorer and an indigene of Kwara, Rashidi Yekini was one of the sorrowful moments that greeted the game in the past year. The Super Eagles’ goal-king died in Ibadan at 48 and his remains were moved to Offa, his hometown for burial.

It was not too pleasant for football lovers in the state on the field of play too as Kwara’s two teams in the NPL failed to live up to expectations, first with Kwara United who looked like they were plunged into relegation waters but for the expulsion of Ocean Boys and the consequent deduction of all points garnered against them. Kwara United finished 6th on the table though and would be proud of that finish in view of the challenges faced over the season by the Afonja Warriors, the banishment of Kwara United to Abuja after the fracas that ensued at the Ilorin Township Stadium in the game against Sunshine Stars saw Kwara United drop many points which put them in dire straits. At a point, coach of the team, Tunde Sanni was also fired only to be reinstated within days until the end of the season when he was replaced by Samson Unanuel. For all these challenges, finishing  sixth on the table would have looked like a fair return.

ABS football club was the only private club to participate in the NPL last season and as impressive as some players of ABS were last season, including Andrew Abalogu and Abdulrahman Bashir, ABS had to wait till final matchday to secure a place in the top tier of football in the country, they faced similar challenges as “ United” as the Afonja Warriors are popularly called and they also parted ways with coach, Erasmus Onuh during the season handing the reins to his assistant, Kabiru Suleman Dogo. ABS eventually placed 16th on the table just above the relegation waters.

Having said this much, football development in the state has not been poor though, Ilorin hosted the national Under-20 team, the Flying Eagles all through their qualification campaign including matches against Tanzania and South-Africa with the state government acting as sponsors. There have been grassroot activities initiated also, with the State Government establishing the Governor’s Cup for secondary schools in the state and the Maigida Talent Hunt for some sports also. One drawback though could be the little number of sporting facilities all over the state, one well maintained football pitch in every Local Government Area would not be impossible to achieve.

Looking forward though, perhaps the light at the end of the tunnel may begin to show this year with a record budget of N1.4bn for the sport sector in the budget proposal presented by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed for the year. Also, the seriousness with which Kwara’s  NPL Clubs, Kwara United and ABS address players’ welfare in prompt payment of salaries and sign-on fees may begin to pay dividends, there has been a higher level of security at the stadium since the(Kwara United vs Sunshine stars) brouhaha, and if all of these are maintained,    the best surely will be seen. Kwara Football Academy this year, won the NNPC/Shell Cup Soccer Competition, held among secondary schools nationwide annually and so development can be perceived even amidst the higgledy-piggledy that has surrounded the football scene in the state.

My View:

I think that Kwara is brimming with quality in football and this is evident in some performances by the Kwara teams in the NPL. However poorly ABS might have placed, performances like those against Enyimba in Ilorin show that the problem is not ‘playing well’ but ‘always playing well’. This consistency can only be achieved with players’ welfare strictly taken care of, their season not being disrupted with banishments away from their home ground and continuity in administration of the club as against repeated changes in officials of the clubs through the season. If this is done and the huge budget allocated to the game efficiently used to provide good football facilities to every corner of the state for talents to thrive, subsequent years might just see the revival of Kwara as a dominating force in the round-leather game.