Ayobami Atanda 

Background

The National Association of Students of English and Literary Studies, University of Ibadan  (NASELS UI) once again had an abysmal performance in the just concluded SEALS Cup, conceding seven goals in three matches. For a lot of sessions now, sporting activities are nothing to write home about in the student’s body. Its football team, which has had the most support, has failed to win an official match in the last four sessions. The student footballers of NASELS UI in the 2020/2021 academic session fought against Philosophy after a 2-goal to 1 defeat in the Dean’s Cup, which made the organizers give the team a 20 thousand naira fine.  

However, the recent male football team’s woeful performances juxtapose what the NASELS UI football team was known for earlier in the Faculty of Arts and the University of Ibadan at large. The team won the Deen’s Cup three times in a row at the earliest turn of the 21st century. It became the most dreaded to play against in the faculty and its players were ceremonious all through UI. It is disheartening that the story has changed. Only a few gave an iota of recognition to the team’s participation in any football tournament recently. 

Abrupt End of SEALS Cup Campaign 

The Faculty of Arts teams, Philosophy, History, Linguistics, Anthropology, and English ended their campaign in the biggest football tournament at the University of Ibadan in the group stage. While the early exit of Philosophy and History was a shock to football enthusiasts, the abrupt elimination of the other teams, including English, was expected. English lost its three matches, conceding seven goals and failing to score a goal. 

Reasons For The Failure 

The results of the three matches truly did not depict what happened on the field. In all the matches, English dominated the possessions, playing good football, but would always eventually lose. The English teams started all their matches, most particularly the first 20 minutes playing good football but ended up conceding a minimum of two goals in each match day. 

The first on-field problem of the team is complacency. The players burn out easily due to lack of strength. With the way the team plays, opponent coaches would only tell their players to be patient till English players get tired before they attack and make sure their nets are secure for the first 20 minutes of action. 

What Causes The Complacency? 

The NASELS UI football team hardly has training sessions. Without mincing words, there are always announcements for training by the sports director or coaches but the players rarely come for the sessions. Their complaint is the strenuous academic activities in the department. While the rigorous academic activities in the Department of English cannot be overemphasized, there is no justification for the team’s show of shame in every competition in the last four years. All students in UI experience  (nearly) the same academic stress, if not more in some departments. The lack of adequate training sessions does not make English players gas out easily and allows their opponents to capitalize on their weaknesses every time. 

Playing Five-A-side and Few Friendly Matches 

Though the captain of the team, Adekunle Salau, told NASELS Press that the team played a lot of friendly matches before its SEALS Cup opening match, it is widely known that the team only played against LARIS. The other teams are anonymous. The team’s failure to prepare adequately for the competition later caused a debilitating setback in the tournament. Adekunle told the press that they often played friendly matches after each training session in the cricket pavilion, which could only allow a 5-a-side football match. Notwithstanding, playing friendly matches on a small football pitch is not the same as fielding 11 players on the SUB Old Stadium. NASELS UI players need to be accustomed to playing friendlies on standard pitches as a preparation for competitions. 

Lack of Organization and Pattern 

After the whirlwind display of good football in the first 20 minutes, the team always gets disorganized immediately when the opponents start their play. A spectator would hardly know the team formation. It seems all players move in the football direction and no one is placed in any strategic positions to make a counterattack. Often times, this led to mostly costly errors. 

At the disorganized moment, the players begin to play another pattern. The coach, Oloyede Ibrahim, once told NASELS Press that the team plays a high-pressing pattern, a possession-based pattern, similar to Pep Guardiola’s Tiki Taka and Jogen Klop’s Gegenpressing. However, NASELS UI players, at the slightest provocation, begin to launch the football wide and wild, playing kick and follow, the pattern they were not trained to play, and this allowed their opponents to gain possessions easily and punish the team for lack of possession control. 

Playing on Empty Stadiums (playing without supporters) 

A team’s supporters are the 12th player on the field. They were the team to perform optimally against their opponents. Teams in UI often have their fans fill the stadium to the brim. Nevertheless, it is rare to see five NASELSites come to watch the team play in any football tournament. In no small measure, this has proven to be a clog in the wheel of the team’s performance in any major game. While the opponents’ supporters cheer up their players and cast derogatory remarks on English players, no English supporter will be at the stand to uplift the team’s spirit and go shoulder-to-shoulder with the supporters of the opposition teams. 

The SEALS Cup ’24 ended on Saturday with MBBS as the champion. However, the performance of the NASELS UI in the tournament left much to be desired. No one should shoulder the blame, as it was a collective failure of all NASELSites. Ever since the group stage elimination, the sports committee in the department has made some initiatives to let English revive its sporting activities. For it to be achieved, it is required for all hands to be on deck.