A Night With United

But the ease with which the matches were conducted belie the strenuous behind-the-scene negotiations and scepticism which trailed the run-up to the fiesta. Scared by negative and often exaggerated media report about security situation in the country, United reportedly had concerns about safety and security. But all that soon evaporated as Ferguson and his men moved to brace the odds.

For United manager, Ferguson, playing in Africa, especially in Nigeria was rewarding. “It was actually difficult to ignore the offer brought forward by Tinapa of Nigeria because the pay was right. Football is about business and we have no regret coming here since it’s strictly on business,” Ferguson said.

The gaffer opined that his men were well taken care of by the Nigerian organisers, rubbishing insinuations that Nigeria is not the right country to go, stay in or do business. “We had to come here to play in the TINAPA fiesta because we were assured of our safety and we feel at home. The fans here are wonderful and that shows we are loved in Nigeria,” he stated. The Red Devils’ boss praised the fantastic reception his team received from Nigeria and equally commended the government of Nigeria for erecting the magnificent Abuja National Stadium which he said has world standard facilities.

“The facilities at the stadium are good, especially the pitch, and we love the environment, though it’s a bit hot here … we also appreciate the opponents provided for the match.” Responding to a question on the seeming disinterest of United to sign an African player since the departure of Eric Djemba-Djemba of Cameroon, Fergie said: “We are not a racist club. I wish we could sign some African players, but it has been difficult to sign the stars we need.” He told journalists that Chelsea star, Michael Essien, his Ghana teammate, Sulley Muntari and Nigeria’s John Mikel Obi are examples of African players who United would have loved to have. “Essien was with us in the academy at just 16 years, just like Muntari. But we couldn’t get work permits for them and they both went back to their country. Before we knew what happened, Essien went to Bastia, while Lyon signed him again and Chelsea came for him at the end. The price they were prepared to pay for him was high and we couldn’t agree to that kind of price,” he enthused.

The Scot also found time to explain the bungled John Obi Mikel contract with United. “We fought hard to have Mikel, but he chose to go to Chelsea. At the end, there was nothing we could do about that. So there’ve been cases where we have tried to get African players in the past and we’ve failed, but we are going to do something about it soon. United don’t hate African players, that’s the truth.” In another breath, Pompey boss, Redknapp, who has several African players in his team, corroborated Ferguson’s assertion that African players have the talent, and that their exploits in the Premiership and other leagues across the globe speak volume of their potentials.

“Many have asked me why black players are dominating my team, but I don’t look at the colour before picking my players. I will sign the ones who I feel can give me results. For now, I have two Nigerians, Nwankwo Kanu and John Utaka, who are brilliant players. There are other African players in Portsmouth like Papa Buba Diop of Senegal, while players like Djimi Traore, Lauren, and Campbell are blacks,” he concluded. Before the commencement of the game one hot issue on the lips of everybody present, journalists and fans alike was, why did TINAPA take the match to Abuja which is approximately 857km from its operational base in Calabar? Or better still, why not take the matches to Lagos which has a higher football fan base? However, Bassey Ndem, Managing Director of TINAPA Busines Resort Limited, has an important perspective on the issue. According to him, the decision to play in Abuja came as a last resort after putting all the factors into consideration. “They did not want to hear anything about Lagos when the matter came up. Recall the difficulty encountered when a Man U star came to Lagos and imagine what would have happened if the entire team were to descend on Lagos. Besides, the National Stadium was bad, while Teslim Balogun was deemed improper to host such a match,” Ndem explained.

He also stated that Calabar was ruled out because the stadium was too small while the city lacked adequate hotel facilities to host the crowd that would have besieged it. According to him, whereas the four major hotels in Calabar can boast of less than 500 standard hotel rooms, Transcorp Hilton alone has more than 500 rooms, not to talk of others. Deprived of their desire to watch Man U play flesh to flesh at the U.J. Esuene Stadium as earlier announced, aggrieved Calabar football buffs and Man U fans thronged the various viewing centres spread across the city to watch the game, which was screened live on SuperSport across the continent. Popular DSTV viewing centres like the Crab along Mariam Road, Malabo Student Centre and hordes of viewing joints in Bogobiri were besieged by the fans.

Beyond the issue of the propriety of staging the event in Abuja, questions were also raised about the cost of bringing both premiership clubs to Nigeria. When asked to comment on the issue, Ndem opted to downplay the cost implication, while insisting that the event was not designed to make financial gains in the short term. “Our reason for organising this event is to expose Nigerian football clubs to the outside world. You know that the two matches were carried live on SuperSport which is the exposure our football and clubs need to progress,” he explained. However, investigation by the magazine indicates that it cost TINAPA more than £2.5m to bring both premiership teams. While United got £1.5m, Portsmouth earned £1m for their troubles.

•Additional Report by Emmanuel Una/ Calabar