In a keenly contested Round of 16 clash at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Cameroon head coach Rigobert Song expressed confidence in Nigeria's potential to clinch the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.

Despite his Indomitable Lions succumbing to a 2-0 defeat against the Super Eagles, Song praised the Nigerian side for their solid performance.

The four-time champions faced tough opposition, failing to register a goal on target throughout the match.

Song acknowledged Nigeria's strength, stating, "They are a solid side and they proved that against us. Congratulations to them." The Cameroonian said

Despite the loss, Song remains optimistic about Cameroon's future, emphasizing their ongoing rebuilding process.

“We are a young team, still in a rebuilding process. We made a couple of mistakes which is normal with a young team like ours.

“Nigeria have always been a favourite and I think they have the quality to win the competition.” Song concluded.

By Olujimi Dare Ogun

Segun Odegbami, former Super Eagles captain, said on Sunday that lack of funds was making it difficult for clubs to successfully prosecute the Nigeria Professional Football League matches, adding that the problem was making it difficult for them to honour matches.

Despite the poor financial state of these clubs, he kicked against privatising these clubs on the premise that such an exercise would lead to the death of the clubs.

Privatisation, he said, would fail because no private organisation was willing to own club and not any could successfully manage a football club.

He said that the reason why clubs would fail was that sports to a great extent was viewed as recreation rather than being a purely business enterprise.

He also took swipe at the clubs which owed players for months saying that owing players was detrimental to the development of the game.

According to him, since most of the clubs were owned by the state governors, who cannot meet their financial obligation to their workers, certainly they would owe the players.

He called for greater attention to the generation of income to enable the clubs to operate.

He, however, gave a pat saying that coverage and officiating of the League (NPFL) was improving, calling on club owners, managers and sport administrators to sustain the improvements so that the nation’s football would be strengthened

Since this statement was credited to Pinnick barely a week ago, very many football followers have expressed great concern about the ‘colonial mentality’ in the Glasshouse and how such retrogressive disposition would further impede the growth of our football.

One of them, Aloy Amamchukwu, had a particularly illuminating take on the subject: “At times like these when Nigeria is looking inwards the NFF is looking outwards. They always claim to be broke and can’t adequately finance the national team even with a low wage local coach, now they are talking about employing a foreign coach to…waste hard earned dollars that we all know is scarce these days. Maybe Nigerian government should get foreigners also to run the NFF since we don’t believe in ourselves.”

Some others even expressed disappointment with me for not weighing in on the matter with what they felt were my “usually compelling views.                                                                                     But, what really can I say that I have not said a thousand, no, ten thousand times before. No doubt, nothing about our football will be new for a long time to come. And that is so regrettable.

Nigeria international Odion Ighalo is confident that his club, Watford, can pull off a result against Arsenal when they play hosts to the London club this Saturday.

The 26-year-old, despite admitting that the Gunners are one of the big guns in the English top division, is also hopeful that they can ruffle the feathers of Arsene Wenger's men.

Ighalo, who has scored The Hornets' last five goals this term, is optimistic of adding to his number of goals for the club when Arsenal visit Vicarage Road this weekend.

The Nigerian international also knows that they would have to work their socks off if they want to stand any chance of claiming a result against the North London club.

"Arsenal are a big team and it is not going to be easy. They are not a team we are going to take lightly because they are doing very well at the moment. They are not just doing well but also scoring goals.

"So we just have to work hard against them - play to the coach's instructions, and hopefully we can get all three points or may be one. It is not going to be an easy game because Arsenal are a good team. But in football anything can happen and I am hoping by God's grace I can add to my goal tally," he said.

Ighalo is currently the third highest goalscorer in the English top-flight this season with five goals, behind Leicester City's Jamie Vardy and Sergio Aguero of Manchester City on seven and six goals respectively.

The former Udinese man has scored a goal each against Everton, Swansea City, AFC Bournemouth and two against Newcastle United.

The striker has made eight league appearances for the club this season, including two as a substitute.