Deaf Eagles’ handler laments neglect of team

Coach of Deaf Eagles’ of Nigeria, Kamiludeen Banjo has raised concerns over the neglect of the team by the country’s sports administrators with an appeal to the henchmen of the National Sports Commission to put modalities in motion geared towards settling all the outstanding allowances of the players.

In an exclusive interview with newstap.com.ng, Coach Banjo lamented that not minding the laurels won by the team, nobody has deemed it fit to either host them or pay them their allowances which he said now make the players look like second class citizens in their fatherland.

“It’s regrettable that nobody is paying serious attention to the welfare of Deaf Eagles’. I have been with the team since 2002 and nurtured it from infancy to where it is today but I can tell you that it has been disappointment and total neglect from sports administrators all these years.

“This is a team that have won the West African Deaf Football championship five times. We’ve participated in the competition ten times, won five editions and became runners- up five times and yet nobody is looking at our side.

” It will also interest you to know that some years back, we qualified for the Deaflympics after defeating Ghana on their home soil but we could not go to Chinese Taipei for that championship due to lack of funds as was claimed by the then Ministry of Sports.

Banjo whose team has been consistent in qualifying for major competitions and was in Bulgaria for the Deaflympics before traveling to Malaysia as one of Africa’s representative at the Deaf World Cup expressed regrets that not minding that they went to the Asian country with a depleted team and where not disgraced, their allowances are yet to be settled almost two years after the championship.

” Our trip to the Deaf World Cup in 2023 was a very pathetic one. Out of 18 players registered for the competition only 13 of us travelled with an assurance by the Sports Ministry that the remaining five will join us before the commencement of the World Cup.

” But to our greatest surprise, those five players did not make it to Malaysia. At a stage, I had to play with eight players because one got a groin injury while the other one had a red card but we still managed to get to the round of 16 where we lost to the defending champions through some questionable decisions by the referee

” It was this incredible performance that made the world body to rate Nigeria as the 11th best deaf football playing nation in the world. But not minding this achievement, since 2023, the Sports Ministry has not deemed it fit to host the team nor pay our allowances”, he lamented.

According to Banjo, the only difference between his players and other national team players is that they are deaf, positing that the players are highly talented and one will marvel at their football artistry and knowledge of the game when they’re on the field of play just as he craved for a friendly match between the Deaf Eagles’ and the U-17 or U-20 national teams for Nigerians to see them perform.

The Coach went on to further explain that during the last West African Deaf Football Championship which Nigeria hosted and won, the Sports Ministry appealed to the Federation to look for sponsors for the tournament which they did but regrettably, those players have not been hosted, paid their allowances or given any special rewards like their able bodied counterparts.

” I want to also tell you that after preparing for the last Deaflympics hosted by Brazil, football was dropped at the last minute and only athletics represented the country which the Sports Ministry attributed to paucity of funds

“Then when it was time for the last West African Deaf Football tournament which the country hosted, the Federation managed to get few sponsors but surprisingly after we won that tournament, we’ve not heard anything from the Sports Commission which is highly discouraging”, he stressed

He appealed to the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko and the Director General, Bukola Olopade to use their good offices and ensure that the team’s outstanding allowances are paid fully and also ensure that adequate attention is given to special athletes who have been winning laurels for the country

” I want to use this medium to appeal to the NSC top shots; Mallam Shehu Dikko and Chief Bukola Olopade to look into the team’s plight. They should ensure that our World Cup allowances and other outstanding ones are settled fully because my players are suffering and they’re beginning to see themselves as not wanted by the country.

The experienced coach who said he would have quit the job out of frustration but stayed on because of appeals from the players, explained that he took private lessons on sign language to be able to communicate with his players. He expressed hope of one day meeting Victor Osimhen who once promised to help the team but is yet to do that.

” I’m looking forward to seeing Victor Osimhen to have discussion with him because he once promised to help special sports. Whenever, I see him, I will show him all your video recordings and maybe that will make him remember his promise but for now, government must do something for these players to make them have a sense of belonging in the country”, he concluded.