How Nigerian cricket can achieve recognition -Kwesi Sagoe

Cricket has enjoyed a fair amount of activity in participatory sports in Nigeria over the years. But the sport has hardly attracted public attention. The President of Nigeria Cricket Federation, Kwesi Sagoe, in this interview with AFOLABI GAMBARI, spoke on the efforts being made to change the trend in order for the country to rank among the Full Test countries in the world The prominence enjoyed by countries like South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe in cricket owes to the fact that these nations have had little success in football as compared to Nigeria. Don‘t you see your effort at raising the awareness for cricket running into difficulty as the result of this reality?

I agree with you in totality, that the prominence enjoyed by Nigeria in cricket does not compare to that of the listed countries. Notwithstanding, however, this does not take away the fact cricket is on ground here in Nigeria. It‘s a sport here as far as Nigeria is concerned. We might not rank with those countries at the moment. But the fact that we are recognised by them is enough for us.

A football-crazy populace in Nigeria will see cricket as elitist. How do you hope to disabuse the minds of the people with regard to the awareness that you hope to create?

I do not agree that cricket is elitist; not in the light that you have portrayed it. Cricket as a sport has been played in Nigerian schools for many years. You could say that the media attention has not been favourable to the sport and that probably would have accounted for the notion that it‘s elitist. Also, the fact that the sport has not commanded a nation-wide participation, as football does, has made it a rather southern affair. But if you observe objectively, you will discover that it is very popular in the southern part of the country. The popularity is growing as I speak and I believe that with time, it will spread across the country.

But it must truly grow across the country if you hope to achieve the national appeal that you crave…

Certainly, and that‘s why we are embarking on a nation-wide campaign to popularise cricket. The NCF has unfolded an all-encompassing plan to launch the sport in schools with the active assistance of the head teachers. We believe that the earlier we inculcate the sport in the youths at that level, the better for Nigeria‘s future in it. We will ask the head teachers to encourage the youths that the only sport that will provide them with the opportunity to travel the world is cricket. Also, the youths will be educated on the fact that while opportunities to represent Nigeria in football are getting slimmer, that of cricket has become even bigger. The signs are obvious! There are far more trips for the cricket players in a year as compared to the ones undertaken by the footballers. Now, we have gone beyond planning. We are proceeding to the implementation level. I believe that by the end of our tenure in 2009, we would have pushed cricket beyond dream into reality.

Talking about reality, could you let the expectant public into your agenda to re-launch cricket in Nigeria?

Well, let‘s not just say, re-launch. Rather, we should simply say, consolidate. In any case, we have set our agenda to include, though not exhaustively, putting together a national club championship, putting together a national schools championship, renovating the secretariat with a view to making it be in tune with what obtains elsewhere, upgrading the non-International Cricket Council funding, construction of two cricket grass pitches and improvement of the quality of the national teams.

You will need adequate sponsorship to achieve these objectives. What efforts are you making to source sponsors with a view to augmenting the meagre funds that the Sports Ministry in Abuja will provide?

At the moment, we have succeeded in getting sponsorship from the United Foods Limited, makers of Indomie Noodles. We expect to maximise this opportunity for the interest of cricket in Nigeria. In addition, we have also applied for grants from the African Cricket Association to aid our developmental efforts. Hopefully, we will be informed at the end of October if our application is successful.

Aren‘t such grants automatic, since you are a member of the African cricket community?

They should be, ordinarily. But in reality, the funds are limited and members can only get them on merit and according to how concrete the programmes of each member is. For the NCF, we are convinced that we have marshalled our programme very well and have tabled our needs accordingly. I have no doubt that our application will be successful.

But isn‘t it better to stick strictly to one major sponsor in Nigeria? It‘s the practice in South Africa and Zimbabwe where Standard Bank and Old Mutual sponsor their cricket respectively. The popularity enjoyed by cricket in both countries has so much to do the major sponsors. How does the NCF hope to attain this level?

I think we should not be expected to walk before we crawl. So, suffice it to say that it‘s better for us to stick to the United Foods that we have at the moment. As time goes on and with our consistency on the rise, we will attract bigger sponsorships. Also, I would like to say that the reason Zimbabwe and South Africa have attracted the sponsorships was mainly because of the solid organisational structure of the cricket governing bodies over a long period of time in which mutual trust had evolved between the partners. More important, you have to recognise the fact that both South Africa and Zimbabwe are Full Test countries while Nigeria is not. It places both on advantage than us. It simply means that the NCF will need to first lay a very solid structure before attracting a major sponsor that will be associated with the cricket body for a long time to come. As it is at the moment, we still have a bit of a long way to go before we can achieve this. But the good thing is that we have drawn up our agenda and are working assiduously towards achieving our aims.

Let‘s talk about the experience of the Nigerian Under-19 team at African event in South Africa in August. You were quoted as saying that it was an eye-opener…

Yes, it was a great experience for us as a nation. After everything, we learnt some few lessons, the most important of which was the need to prepare adequately for a major event of that nature. The interesting thing was that we had the players. But inadequate funding meant that we arrived at the competition venue late. Even the pitch booked for our training had been taken over as we missed the training session. We arrived and went straight to competition. That we had a descent performance attested to the fact that we could have done better if we had arrived to attune to the cold weather there. But as I said, we learnt our lessons.

How about the developmental programme?

The programme is well spelt out. There is the Under-13, Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19. They are so arranged that the progression to the senior team will be devoid of fuss. Such is the programme that there is practically no room for cheats. It gives us hope that we will not only dominate the West African sub-region but will also make useful forays into the continent and in the nearest future will earn us the recognition that we deserve. The system is working so well and this is a plus for our organisational structure.

What about the female cricket development?

It‘s in the pipeline. But to be fair, this will only evolve with the assistance that we are expecting from the ACA. It will not be a bad idea to have a female cricket team. I think it‘s worth working for.

You contested for the vice presidency of the African Cricket Association in August and lost. How was the experience?

It was a wonderful experience that I will cherish for a long time to come. Personally, I was happy at the way the election went because it was tied at 10-10 at the first ballot and I lost 12-8 in the second ballot. We are at the NCF and the entire West African sub-region always felt that we must register our presence on the African scene. So, it was an opportunity to take the shot. It didn‘t really matter that I lost the election. What mattered was that I made a statement that the West Africans are coming to share the top league with the East and South Africans.

So, how will Nigeria attain the status of a Full Test country in the near future?

It will not be as near as people might think. But the important thing is that we will get there. We have taken the first step of mapping out programmes. Then we proceed to participating constantly in competitions and winning. Of course, with a solid media too, we will achieve the recognition that we seek internationally.