Bell tolls for Julius Berger FC

For the followers of Julius Berger FC one time Nigeria's most exciting outfit here is the bad news. Their darling team is on the way out of Nigerian soccer scene. The bell is already tolling for the clubside and if the management pursues its plan which it launched at the beginning of this season, Julius Berger will be part of history by 2008.

Julius Berger Construction Company which finances the club is cutting down on operating costs in the country and the major casualty in the reforms is the football club which the present Managing Director, Mr. George Marks refers to as an unnnecessary drain pipe.

Marks did not hide the intention of management before the commencement of the football sweason when he summoned the club chairman, Adewale Kuti for a meeting. A well-placed official of the club who was at the forum,told nigeriasports.com he made it clear that the company was tired of running the football club because it was becoming "too expensive".

The chief executive explained that because businness was no longer booming for the company which was a major benefactor of multi billion naira contracts awarded by past military regimes, running the football club would be a luxury which the company would find difficult to maintain.

However, Marks refrained from disbanding the clubside to save the company from a vicious backlash which would have been the fall-out. Rather he told the football club chief to ensure that the team just played well enough to be in the news. He warned that the team should not aspireto win the premier league and the Challenge Cup.

His reason was that wininning either of the competitions provided a ticket to the club to participate in continental campaign which he stressed the company was not prepared for.
Marks creed has been the guiding principle for the club since the season kicked off. Apart from a drastic cut in their budget, the club did not hire big stars which was the practice during the booming days of the club when Chief Daniel Idama was the chairman.

And since the birth of the clubside, almost thirty years ago, it is passing through its most difficult phase with unpaid allowances for players and officials. An old member of staff who saw the good days in the club recalled with nostalgia "Oh I remember just four years ago, we were never owed a dime after every match we got our dues but now they even owe us bonuses for months and sometimes they slash them. I am aware that there is a management"s plan to kill the club".

However, that plan is no longer a secret in the club as most of the players are planning their escape from a sinking side.Observers reacting to the development described the decsision of the Julius Berger management as cruel and ungrateful for a company that made so much money from the Nigerian state.
"Now, they want to turn their back on the youth of this great country. They should not waste time pulling out of Nigerian football. They should disband today and Nigeria wont miss them".

Julius Berger was founded in the mid 70's and by the mid eighties, it was already in the big league with Idama who was assistant finance director calling the shots as club chairman.Idama was sacked two years ago and since then the fortunes of the club had plummeting with the management policy towards the club becoming hostile.

Julius Berger has won the league, the Challenge Cup and represented Nigeria in continental competitions three times. Its death will mark the end of era of Nigerian football.

by Ikpo Igbinoba, News Editor