Why Anambra State Cant Float A State Owned Football Club - State Govt

Why Anambra State Cant Float A State Owned Football Club - State Govt

Against the expectation of the public that government and people of Anambra must also be considering the option of owning their own state football club, Tony Oli, Chairman of Anambra Sports Development Commission (ASDC), has dropped bombshell that football was not the business of government.

Oli made the declaration while speaking with www.bsnsports.com.ng in Abuja on Saturday.

BSN Sports reports that Anambra is one of the few states that do not own a club in the country, while about four clubs that participated in the 2018/2019 Nigeria Premier Football League were not state-owned.

“Football was not the business of government but the provision of conducive environment for private sector-driven football industry to thrive,” he said.

Oli said those calling for it lacked understanding of how football is run.

He said the questions have been coming to him that even the governor of the state, Willie Obiano confronted him with the need to have a team but he explained that it was not the business of government to run a football club.

According him, that is why FIFA, the world football governing body, frowns at government interference in football issues, the moment FIFA discovers that a government is meddling in football matters, the body bans it.

“Even His Excellency has asked my why Anambra should not own a club and I explained to him that, as a government, our duty is to create enabling environment for private sector-owned football clubs to run smoothly,” he said

He reiterated the state commitment and aim to finish at the top five on the medals list at the oncoming National Sports Festival in Edo state. Oli admitted that presently Anambra cannot compete with some state at the zenith of the medals table but believe that the state will finish among the top 5 states.

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