We want to get the best coach for Falcons - Dili

Chief Onyedima Dilichukwu is a board member of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF and the chairman, Women League. She is also the manager of the FCT Queen, Abuja. She spoke with our correspondent in Istanbul, Turkey on so many issues affecting the women football. Excerpts:

There were speculations that some people were showing interest in the sponsorship of the women league, how true is it and what is delaying it?

Yeah! We have some people that want to come on board, the discussions are still on. We have one or two things are delaying the deal but we are thinking that we will get over those things and be able to seal the deal in a distance time.

How soon do you think those things would be resolved because Nigerians are anxious to have a sponsor for the women league?

I wouldn’t know, you know when you are not the person bringing out the money, you cannot say when it is going to happen but we are praying that it will happen soon.

Since you don’t have a sponsor, how have you been running the league, is it with your personal money?

The league has always been there. We all know that since inception, the women league has not had a sponsorship. There are a lot of clubs that are owned by government and they are doing very well even though some are doing better than the others. The sponsorship we are talking about is to help alleviate the problems of the clubs; adding to what they are doing to better the lives of these clubs and the players. If not, there are some state governments clubs that are doing very well but all the same, we are not forgetting that some of these clubs are individually owned and these are people who are really suffering the whole lack of money. All the same, I still have to thank them because the difficulties they are going through have not made them to lose interest. Because of the interest they have in the girls; because they want to help alleviate the sufferings of the girls, because they want to shape the lifestyles of these girls, they have been putting their personal money in the running of their clubs, to make sure that the league and the girls are moving on. It is not easy to employ 30 girls, pay them salaries, taking them round to and fro for their matches, about 18 in a year. I know how they feel, it is not easy, at times, some government clubs don’t get their money on time. These people use their personal money to run the clubs until government pay them. So I very much appreciate them because of what they are doing, they are using their minds; they are making sure that the league does not die. I owe them that personal gratitude for what they have been doing when I was not there and when I am there.

Now that you do not have a sponsor, does that mean there is prize-tag for the eventual winner of the women league?

No, we don’t have a particular price tag but from time to time, the end of the league is determined by what happens that year. So, I won’t tell you if there is prize or not.

Let’s look at the FCT Queens, for almost two years; they have not been paid their salaries and other allowances, what is responsible for this?

It is just government bureaucracy. Everything about the FCT Queen FC, it is the FCT minister that is handling it and from time to time, it has to do with files moving from one table to another. At times, it wastes so much time on a particular table. In fact, it is government bureaucracy; as I am talking now, government has given approvals for money not paid; they are just waiting for money to be available for them to pay them.

If the FCTA does not have money to pay the girls, when then do they get money to prosecute their matchesespecially away matches?

We source for funds; you know in government, when there is no budget, it means you don’t have money in your vote but you know they can always scout for money here and there in related subject to get things going because government business is continuous; so things have to be moving on until the budget is approved.

Some stakeholders are worried that the FCT is not bothering about getting a sponsor for the team instead of relying solely on government.

It depends on what you mean by sponsor because if government is sponsoring, I don’t think you will want that same government to go out and start looking for sponsor because they have taken the responsible of taking care of the club. It is only when the club is on its own and nobody is looking at them or nobody is doing anything, it is then you can talk about that. No individual has the right to take them away as it is now.

Recently, the NFF decided to play the male and female Federation Cup finals on the same day and venue, how do you see the combination and how prepare are the female folk to meet up with the date?

In fact, it is a good thing because the Federation Cup is only managed by the NFF. As it is, they the one running it that is, why the two competitions are coming up at the same time. And in fact, the final will be played on the day, so we are going to have the same venue, the same crowd, the same everything about the competition, so I think it is a very good thing.

Super Falcons

Let’s look at the national team; none of the female team has a coach, what is delaying this?

We can’t say all the teams don’t have coaches, we have only dissolved the Falcons, but the U-20 and U-17 coaches are still there except the Board looks at it and decide otherwise but the major issue now is the Falcons coach. We have discussed it before we left for the FIFA U-20 Male World Cup in Turkey; the Technical Committee are on top of the situation.

What do you consider when appointing coaches especially for the female teams because we have seen coaches who don’t have experience of handling a female side being saddled with the responsibility, will you consider the pedigree of such person this time?

Yeah! We are looking at a lot of things this time around; bringing somebody from somewhere does not really matter. The important thing is somebody who understands the psychology of these girls, who can handle their affairs and give them what they want. And we are looking wide and far to make sure that we get the best person that can handle the girls because it is not just being a coach to these but somebody who can relate with them. For you to relate with them, you need to have the psychology, the philosophy and a lot of things for you to handle a team like Falcons. So that is what we are doing, definitely we get a right person to do that.

Lastly, the male team has a developmental programme that will see the U-13 graduating to U-15 down to the U-17 and upward, why don’t we have the same for the female team?

The NFF should probably be able to answer that question properly because these national teams are organisational properties. Having said that, I think they have a lot in their hands. From the male team alone, they have the Super Eagles, U-23, U-20, U-17, U-15, U-13 and now the CHAN home-based Eagles, Beach Football, Five-Aside and all that. Then coming to the female, the Falcons, the Falconets and the Flamingoes, I think they have a lot in their hands. It is only U-13/U-15 that they don’t have for female but we are thinking of having such programme. The only challenge is that the money used in running all these teams is inadequate. If NFF are adequately funded, we will start that programme but all the same, it is easier to get U-17 female team than to get the U-13 because most parents would not allow their children at that age to start playing football and you should know that you start playing female football when you start feeding yourself. But when you are still under the tutelage of your parents, hardly would you be allowed to start playing football, so that is why you see so many of them starting when they are about passing out of the secondary schools or immediately after secondary school, when they feel they can now start playing football. That is why we have U-17, from there you get U-20 and then Super Falcons.