A veteran sports administrator in Anambra, Victor Nwangwu, has described the faceoff between the Anambra Sports Development Commission (ASSDC) and State Football Association (AnSFA) as unfortunate and regrettable.
Nwangwu, a retired staff member of the defunct Anambra Ministry of Youth and Sports and former Secretary of Anambra FA for 12 years, said this in an interview in Awka on Thursday.
The Anambra FA had purportedly banned Chijioke Onyedika, a staff member of the Anambra Sports Commission, from participating in football activities and not to enter any sports venue for five years for alleged anti-football activities.
But the commission overruled the FA, saying it lacked the power to suspend Onyedika, who was reportedly carrying out official duties as assigned to him, being an agent of the Anambra Government.
Nwangwu, who recalled the harmonious relationship between the government and the FA in the past, blamed the face off on the breakdown of communication.
He said that while the FA manages football from FIFA to the local government levels, the government remains the father of all sports.
According to him, all the associations must have a symbiotic relationship among them in order to succeed.
“This development is unfortunate in the sense that the commission is working very hard to reposition sports in Anambra, the FA also is working hard to encourage football.
“Frankly, the commission is the father of all sporting activities in the state, the Ministry of Sports Development organizes programs, using the various federations.
“The FA has a vertical relationship with FIFA but horizontally, the Federal Ministry of Sports handles sports generally, so there is a clash of authority,” he said.
Nwangwu said that dialogue should have been explored, arguing that the commission and FA needed to work harmoniously to achieve greater results for football and players in Anambra.
He said that, in spite of the general rules guiding various sports associations, some state associations had cooperated with their governments to evolve a relationship that had benefited their sports immensely.
According to him, there is a need for them to sit down and talk over their disagreement.
“The first step would have been to approach the commission to ask relevant questions because, whatever Onyedika did was a directive from his employers” he said.
