Duro Ikhazuagbe
Certified hybrid pitch Technician, Ebi Egbe, has insisted that Nigeria cannot demand European-standard football quality from her players while giving them African-standard inconsistency in the most fundamental piece of football infrastructure.
Egbe who is the CEO of Monimichelle Sports Facilities Construction Ltd, spoke shortly after Super Eagles laboured to a comeback 2-1 2027 AFCON qualifiers win against Madagascar at the Godswill Akpabo International Stadium in Uyo…last Friday.
The Monimichele Boss insisted that: “Every green is not a football pitch. This is another issue we must confront.
“A pitch can look beautiful on television and still be technically unsuitable for elite football. Every green is not a green for football,” began Ebi Egbe whose stamp of authority is on the CAF/FIFA-certified Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne.
Egbe stressed further that “if Nigeria is serious about developing elite footballers, improving the NPFL, strengthening the Super Eagles and competing consistently at the highest level, then we must finally accept one fundamental principle: ‘The Pitch is the 12th Player.’
“And just like the other 11 players, the 12th player must be properly prepared, properly managed and ready to perform when the whistle blows,” he warned with seriousness.
He reiterated that quality pitches must answer these basic questions before they can be certified as fit to host elite players.
“The real questions are: “Can the ball move consistently? Is the surface level?
Is traction appropriate? Is the hardness within acceptable parameters?
Does the pitch provide adequate shock absorption? Does the ball bounce predictably? Can players accelerate and change direction safely? Can the surface withstand repeated high-level use? Can it drain effectively during heavy rainfall? Can it maintain consistent performance throughout a match and throughout a season? These are football questions not cosmetic questions.”
In Ebi Egbe’s words: “A beautifully landscaped stadium cannot answer them. Testing, measurement, engineering and professional maintenance provides the answers for them all.”
He therefore insisted further that the Super Eagles deserve a consistent football environment. “If we are serious about the Super Eagles playing modern, high-tempo football, then pitch strategy must become part of national team strategy. Our players are exposed to different football environments abroad. Many of them play week after week on highly maintained professional surfaces. They return to Nigeria and encounter a completely different playing environment.”
Ebi Egbe said that transition should give sports administrators in the co7 try serious concern.
“The issue is not whether a pitch is natural grass or synthetic grass simply for the sake of argument. The issue is the quality of their performance.
The question should always be: “What playing surface gives the players the consistency required for the level of football we expect them to play?
That is the conversation we should be having.
He said that the NPFL cannot be a serious development league without serious pitches.
“If we want the Nigerian league to produce players capable of stepping directly into international football, the league must provide a reasonably consistent technical environment.
“A player cannot spend an entire season learning to play on one type of surface and then be expected to immediately reproduce that football on another surface with completely different characteristics,” concludes the certified groundsman.