Monimichelle Sports CEO, Ebi Egbe, has weighed in on the upcoming World Cup qualifier between Nigeria and South Africa.
Egbe highlighted the challenge of blending home-based and foreign players with varying experience on different playing surfaces. However, he referenced Coach Finidi George’s experience as a former player and coach in the Nigerian league, suggesting he can effectively integrate the players.
“Not playing any friendly game together with his new blended team of home base players and elite players actually is not an advantage to us.
“However, Finidi George as an exposed former elite player who is a Nigerian League winning coach that understands Nigerian premier league and a former key assistant to the former Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro, I am sure he has in his books players in the Nigerian league he believes can blend with our elite foreign-based players within a short time together in our crucial home game with South Africa in the city of Uyo.”
He mentioned that the South African players have an advantage because of training on elite pitches in South Africa.
“South Africa has elite hybrid pitches(natural and synthetic turf fused pitches) in their two major stadiums in Cape Town and Johannesburg, the closest pitch with similar ball movement in Nigeria is the Remo Stars hybrid synthetic pitch in Ikenne Ogun State and that is the only natural infill synthetic turf pitch that is currently being maintained to standard.
The playing surface in Uyo presents a potential challenge for the Super Eagles. The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium boasts a 100% natural grass pitch, which offers slower ball movement compared to the elite hybrid pitches utilized by most Nigerian internationals in Europe. This could be advantageous for South Africa, whose domestic players are accustomed to playing on similar natural turf surfaces.
The Monimichelle boss whose company have a reputation for making world-class pitches advocated for Nigeria to invest in standard pitches to improve its football.
“Why can’t we have one elite pitch in Nigeria that suits the playing condition of our elite players so we can get maximum performance from them for our home games? Finidi will have to do his team formation maths to suit the pitch condition so our elite players can give maximum performance,” He said.
Egbe made a case for Chijioke Mbaoma and Alimi Sikiru who are currently the top scorers in the Nigeria Premier Football League, with Mbaoma leading the chart with 16 goals.
“The highest goal scorer in the NPFL should be invited to this all important two games because he will understand the pitch condition better than some of our elite strikers from Europe.”
Monimichelle Sports laid the turf at the Enyimba and Remo Stadiums in Aba and Ikenne respectively. Both turfs are adjudged to be the best in the country.
