Local World Cup viewers tune out after opener
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has lashed out at the country’s fans, saying it is a shame they have abused his person for the team’s showing at Brazil 2014. The Super Eagles and coach Keshi came under heavy fire from angry fans after they could only manage a 0-0 draw with Iran in their opening group game at the World Cup in Brazil.But Keshi has taken serious exception to the fans’ rage, saying there was no justification for them to insult his person. “I am disappointed, totally disappointed (by the personal attacks), but it’s their thing, no wahala (no problem),” blasted Keshi in Brazil.
“It’s a shame, just a shame that we keep doing the same thing and then they come back and they say they are sorry. Sorry for abusing my mum? Sorry for abusing my siblings? For what? That I am representing Nigeria?”
Keshi has already fired a salvo at his fellow former football stars who tore at his team and tactics in Brazil.
He said he had expected much better from them as they ought to know better about the game than the man on the street.
Nigeria take on Argentina on Wednesday in Porto Alegre and if they avoided defeat, they will qualify for the knockout rounds of the World Cup for only the third time in their history.
Nigeria’s qualification for next round within reach – Glo??
The major sponsor of the Nigerian national teams, Globacom, has congratulated the Super Eagles for recording an important win against Bosnia and Herzegovina in their second Group F match of the on –going 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Globacom in a press statement released in Lagos immediately after the match hailed the Super Eagles for the victory which not only gave them three points but also brightened their chance of qualifying for the second round. It was Nigeria’s first victory in the World Cup in 16 years.
“The Super Eagles gave a good account of themselves against Bosnia and Herzegovina. We urge them to sustain the momentum when they take on Argentina so as to seal their chance of qualifying for the next round which is now within reach,” Globacom said.
“The match was tough and the weather was harsh. We commend the Super Eagles for their hard work and determination which earned them the victory,” the statement added.
Globacom observed that the victory had confirmed the company’s belief that the team would excel even when so many people seemed to have lost hope in the Super Eagles after they drew with Iran in the first match.
“We wish to advise the team to remain focused for the task ahead while we enjoin the Nigeria Football Federation and the entire nation not to waver in supporting and praying for the Eagles,” the statement further said.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria with four points from two matches will lock horns with Argentina while Iran will also trade tackle with Bosnia and Herzegovina on 25th June in the last group F matches to determine the two teams that will qualify for the second round.
Argentina currently leads Group F with six points while Iran has one point. Bosnia and Herzegovina is yet to secure any point.
They may be gaining momentum after a disappointing draw in their first World Cup match but viewing figures released on Tuesday showed Nigeria's stuttering start appears to have turned off millions of fans back home. Some 17.5 million Nigerian adults -- about a fifth of the adult population -- watched their team's opener on Monday last week, a scoreless draw with Iran which attracted much criticism for their negative approach.
By Saturday, tactics had improved, earning the Super Eagles a creditable 1-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the audience had dropped by 39 percent, with just 10.6 million tuning in. The figures were revealed by GeoPoll, a company that uses text messages to survey developing nations, as part of the first ever survey of World Cup viewing habits among Africans.
The pollster has been analysing viewing trends representing 300 million people in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. Its research showed increased interest in Ghana, where an impressive 2-2 draw with much-fancied Germany attracted 3.7 million adult viewers -- a big rise on the 2.4 million who watched their 2-1 defeat to the United States five days earlier.
Other countries in Africa were also gripped by the fixture, said GeoPoll, with 24.5 million adults watching the Black Stars' exploits against the Germans across the five countries surveyed.
GeoPoll uses text messages as well as voice- and web-based communications to reach a minimum of 2,000 people daily in each country.
"Overall, GeoPoll's viewership numbers for the first round of games has confirmed the popularity of soccer across Africa," it said in a statement. "In the five countries surveyed, viewership for the World Cup has been high, no matter what teams are playing."
Part of the drop in interest inside Nigeria can be put down to a later kick-off time for their second game, the company said. "The earliest games have had particularly high viewership even when African teams were not playing," it added.
"Since the start of the World Cup, at least 17.5 million adults across Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Nigeria have watched part of the first game played each day."
African nations have had mixed results in Brazil, with Cameroon among the first teams knocked out and Ghana hanging by a thread after picking up just one point with a game still to play.
Ivory Coast, Algeria and Nigeria are still very much in the hunt, however, with the tournament entering its round of 16 on Saturday.
- AFP
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