Did you hear the President? ...home-based side is Green Eagles and not Super Eagles B By Kunle Solaja, DAILY SUN/SOCCERSTAR At the inauguration of the Akwa Ibom Stadium, President Goodluck Jonathan consistently referred to the home based Nigerian team that beat the visiting Ghanaian side as the “Green Eagles”. Was it an error? Certainly not. Green Eagles was the name the national team was called when it was almost completely composed of home boys. The name was adopted when the Nigerian team was preparing for an Africa Nations Cup qualifying game against Ghana. Veteran Peter Osugo wrote in the Daily Times of April 15, 1961: “I propose to christen the team, the “Green Eagles”. The name replaced the earlier “Red Devil” which the Nigerian team was called in the colonial era and the period immediately after the independence. The “Green Eagles” remained till March 1988 when the then Chief of General Staff, Augustus Aikhomu rechristened the national team “Super Eagles” as he attempted to qualify the disallowed goal by Henry Nwosu in the final match of Maroc ’88 Africa Nations Cup duel with Cameroon. Like most observers believed, the referee, Idrissa Sarr of Mauritania, when he disallowed the goal by Henry Nwosu. The completion of the final match could have been altered if the goal was upheld. Cameroon later went ahead to convert a controversial penalty kick and won the cup. Twenty six years on, the 66 year old Le Roy told this reporter at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that he did not know why Mauritanian referee disallowed the Nigerian goal. To be honest, I said even in Casablanca after the match that I was not sure the referee was right in his decision. Incidentally, it was the disallowed goal that has given the Nigerian side its current nickname of Super Eagles. When the team returned, the then Chief of General Staff, Admiral Augustus Aikhomu at a reception for the team remarked: it was a super goal. In fact, you are “Super Eagles”. The position of Chief of General Staff at the time is equivalent to that of Vice President. Therefore, it was more of a presidential declaration, just as the then Head of State, General Mohamadu Buhari is responsible for the appellation of our under 17 team that he nicknamed “Golden Eaglets” after the historic feat of 1985 in China. President Jonathan now calling the home based Nigerian team, “Green Eagles” is therefore not a deviation but also an indication that the home based players should struggle to graduate into the ultimate side and the lead football brand of the country, the “Super Eagles”. “Green Eagles” should be the appellation for the home based squad intending to graduate into the Super Eagles. The full range of the various squads of our national teams have names designated to them except the home based senior boys which is often referred to as Super Eagles Team B. The Under 17 team is Golden Eaglets, courtesy of General Buhari. The Under 20 side is “Flying Eagles” great thanks to the late Isaac Akioye who coined the name after the side returned from an impressive tour of Brazil in 1979. The national woman team was nicknamed Falcons by Mariam Babangida while the Sani Lulu Abdulahi regime of the NFF game the under 17 and under 20 women teams their appellations of Flamingos and Falconets.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 10:28:31 +0000
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