Kwara Utd would have escaped relegation even without COVID-19 crisis
The Technical Adviser of Kwara United, Abdullahi Biffo has said the ‘Afonja Warriors would have escaped relegation even without the coronavirus crisis that forced the recent cancellation of the 2019/2020 Nigeria Professional Football League season. The former Niger Tornadoes and Abia Warriors coach also spoke on plans for his team in the coming season and more.
How did you feel considering that Kwara United are among the clubs that have escaped relegation due to the decision to end the season as a result of COVID-19?
I feel those that followed the 2019/2020 NPFL closely will know that most of the teams in the drop zone could have escaped relegation. If you look at it, it was just a point, 2 points that separated the last 10 clubs. If you look at Kwara United, we had more home matches than every other team. If we had played our home games, we could have been out of relegation or not. With the way the league is being organized now, no team can be confident of winning all the games. If the league had continued, we had the belief we would have escaped relegation.
After this, what would the next season look like for the team?
Every team will have to go back and reorganise. The season has ended due to the unforeseen circumstances. Every team now will look to reinforce their squad. Even in Kwara United, we know our problems. Winning games doesn’t mean our team is complete.
Would you say NPFL players are good enough to play for the Super Eagles?
I am not a Super Eagles coach but all the same, we have very good players in our league who can compete favourably with the foreign players. The decision to invite them to the national team is left to those in charge.
Do you feel slighted that you’ve never been considered for any role for any of the national teams, given your experience?
It is a dream for every local coach to manage the national teams but at the same time, we have a great number of coaches who also have the right to coach the teams. But the administrators pick who they want and we have to support those who are chosen. If we keep doing what we do and doing it well, one day we will be recognized. I don’t feel slighted because I am focused on my job and I know my job will take me places.
What is your football coaching philosophy like?
Every coach I believe wants to win a game but what differs is the manner, approach a coach adopts. I tell my players to play the ball on the ground, get to the ball first and get a goal before the opponents. I believe that without scoring a goal, there is no way a match can be won. If you don’t concede, you can’t lose as well. My philosophy is an all attacking game.
It is an open secret that some clubs still owe you a backlog of salaries, have you been paid?
I have about two teams, Katsina United and Niger Tornadoes who are still owing me salaries. As for Tornadoes, I think I wrote NFF and LMC on my owed salary and I was assured that it would be paid. That same year, they were relegated and till now I have not been paid. It is about N4.1m. I was being paid half salary during the recession. As for Katsina, I have not made moves to get paid because I know the team is facing financial challenges. Hopefully, I will let them know my mind on the two months’ salary they owe me.
You left Katsina United unceremoniously, can you elaborate on what went wrong?
Katsina United remains one of the best clubs in the country but I resigned when I was in the United Kingdom during my UEFA B license refresher course. The league had ended then but there were cup matches to be played. I felt it wasn’t right to be in the UK while the FA Cup games were yet to be played. Since I signed a twoyear contract which was to end after the cup games, I had to send in my resignation in time for them to look for a successor ahead of the FA Cup. I didn’t want to hold them to ransom.
You have traversed round Nigerian clubs. What is your assessment of the administration of clubs in the country?
It’s a very difficult task for administrators in Nigeria. Majority of the Premier League clubs are sponsored by the state governments and that is why there is so much politics. When they are given the jobs, there are challenges and people are waiting for them to fail so that they can take over their jobs. They are not given enough time to work on their plans. The pressure is on them and they also do everything to win to retain their positions.
What do you think are the biggest challenges of Nigerian Coaches?
Many clubs sign coaches, but they don’t respect the terms of the contract. A single mistake, they will immediately relieve the Coach of his job. They will not accord him the courtesy of interacting with him to discuss the terms of the contract and way out. You can even be in training and hear over the radio that you have been sacked. You can sleep in a club today, and wake up in another tomorrow. There is a lot of uncertainty. And the administrators don’t care how you will survive when they kick you out without compensation. The administrators should look at that closely and always give us all the due respect.
How best do you think the LMC can develop the NPFL to what is obtainable in other developed countries.
I think having a stable sponsorship is important. Our league needs to be rebranded. The LMC knows the task ahead of them and hopefully, they work in the lapses they have discovered. Nothing is perfect and there is always room for improvement. We no longer have issues of referees’ harassment or a team must win at home. The playing grounds are now safer for everyone.