Ex-internationals should go and reconcile with their people back home – Pascal

Super Eagles Team Coordinator, Patrick Pascal said there is need for ex-internationals to go back to their various states and reconcile with their people especially those interested in holding offices.

He made this assertion at the final of the Nigeria Volleyball Premier League at the Package B of the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja yesterday.

Pascal who is also an ex-international and presently the current chairman of the Bauchi State Football Association said he is happy to hear that Samuel Eto’O Fils is now the president of Fecafoot. “Eto’O is one of us, an ex-international, he has done so much for grassroot football in Cameroun. I am not surprise that he became the president of his country’s football federation.”

He however urged his colleagues to follow in the footsteps of Eto’O. He said, ”I think we cannot continue to deceive ourselves, the football association is a structure. If you want to enter into the politics of football in Nigeria, every ex-international should go back to our various states and do the needful. If you are aspiring to be the president of the Nigeria football federation, you must first go back to your state.

“If you are not an FA chairman in your state, how can you gather your vote to gain access to the NFF? All ex-international who are interested in the administration of football in the country should go back to their states and do something for their people that will make their people recognize them. The problem is that if you are not with your people when you were playing outside the country, if you go and meet them now, nobody will vote for you. So those that have made such mistakes should quickly go back and reconcile with their people so that their people will forgive them and from there they can contest for position. If you don’t do that, you will just continue to make noise on radio, television and newspaper because you can’t have access and you can’t do anything and nothing will happen,” Pascal noted.

The Bauchi administrator further disclosed, “I don’t think it is all about money because for me, I started from the scratch. First I came on board as vice chairman before I contested for the chairmanship position. So I don’t see where you need money to use to buy vote. Let me tell something, as an ex-international, you are supposed to show love to your people during your playing days and your people will reciprocate when you need their help.

“If you go to Bauchi today, most of those clubs will tell you that, when I was playing, I do give them balls, jerseys and some other things, the little things I could do, I did. I tried my best for them and later when I contested for the chairmanship position, I got the votes from them. You can’t be far away from your people and now you expect them to come and call you to come and occupy an office. You need to go back, that is how you can get the ticket to vie for any position at the NFF. If we keep on making noise that, “We are ex-internationals, we played for Nigeria, we deserve to be there….” Ok where is your own structure? It is when you have a structure that the future is assured,” the Super Eagles coordinator concluded.