Our football is a disgrace...

NIGERIA beat Spain in the Under 17 World Cup Finals, a game that was shown live on Astro a short while ago. At about the same time yesterday, the people of Kedah sat through the finals of the Malaysia Cup and saw their team trounced Perak without too much of breaking a sweat.

Fortunately, I didn't wait to see the whole Kedah-Perak finals. I made the right decision by turning down an invitation to see the game at the Bkt Jalil Stadium. And this was justified because what I saw on TV was a game where Kedah came out very much eager to win and Perak had apparently forgotten that there was a trophy at stake!

Based on what was shown last night, Perak should perhaps just forget about football and focus on orchard farming where their durians are still tops! After two goals down, Perak had given up any thought of fighting for the ball, let alone trying to salvage whatever pride left remaining.

Kedah deserved to win. Their players showed more determination, were very focussed, not afraid of the big stage, and displayed glimpse of skills that delighted the crowd. Perak's famous cry of "Kejor, Yob, Kejor" was just a whimper at best.

In the Under 17 World Cup Finals, Nigeria showed just how much the future holds for African football! The players played with pride and determination, technically mature and displayed good team spirit. They were obviously hungry and had something to prove!

I just couldn't help concluding that the young players from Nigeria and Spain could have taught our Malaysian chaps a lesson or two on the pitch. It was the kind of skills that this country sorely need. It was a pleasure to see them play, really!

Our football, a sports activist told me between teh tarik, is nothing more than a political vehicle where favours are asked and given; deals are made on a 'you scratch my back and I scratch yours' basis; where corporates spend their money hoping to land big contracts.

Very simply, our football is a disgrace. And I know it's not a new realisation.