A candidate for Tuesday’s Abia State Football Association Chairmanship election, Ebede Emmanuel Ndudi has dsclosed that his mission to the Abia State FA chairmanship position is to transform the state’s football and make it a model for other states’ FAs to emulate.

The Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Dreamland Football Academy who spoke with Best Choice Sports in an exclusive interview Friday said he was on a mission to liberate Abia State and bring out the abundant talents in the state to the limelight.

Mr Ndudi who bemoaned lack of football activities in the state such as none playing of the state league for years, lack of capacity building for football development in the state as well as the refusal by the FA to play the state’s FA Cup final for three consecutive years and a total neglect of the local government football associations in the state, added that he is on rescue mission to progressively chat a new path for football in the state.

He spoke with Best Choice Sports Editor, Amaechi Agbo. Excerpts.

What informed your desire to contest for the FA top position?

I need a platform to be able to make a change in my state football because it is long overdue. People will not continue to cry. A lot of stakeholders at the grassroots especially, have been crying over the state of football in the state. Basically, I am contesting to make a change, to create value for the abundant talents that are in the state, to bring something new to the administration of football in Abia State.

How do you rate the state of football in Abia state?

Professionally, I will say in terms of football promotion, they have done well based on Enyimba, Abia Warriors and Abia Comets doing well in the two top leagues in the country. But in terms of football development, the state is lagging behind. There are a lot of things that needed to be done. A lot of things are left undone. For the past 8 years nothing has been done. I have never witnessed any state league in the state for many years now; also, I have not seen any youth football tournament in the state organised by the FA. All the categories of tournaments organised every year by other state FAs are not organised in Abia.

There is also lack of capacity building programmes. Even at the local government levels, the engine room of football in the country, there is no instituted FA at that level in the state. The state is like a sleeping dog. There are a lot of problems in the state such that we need help to turn things around.

How confident are you about your victory? 

It’s God that sent me. I told you that my state has suffered and anything I believe in and put my heart into it, I will see to the end. I like to be straight forward to the best of my ability. If I contest and I am defeated transparently fairly, I will learn the lessons on why I was defeated and come back again better and stronger and wiser. I will continue to contest until my state is liberated.

Do you have confidence in the electoral committee?

From the interaction I had with them and going by the days of delay in releasing the names of cleared candidates for the election, I think they are playing a script. I do not know who wrote the script for them but I am not bothered.

You contested the position of Vice chairman last four years and lost. You are back again this year for a higher stake, would you say you are now wiser?

Well, my contesting for the VC was a huge learning curve for me because they trained me in the process and that is why I am back now and for the top position. Then I did not know much but now, it is going to be tough. It will not be business as usual.

Like I said, if I lose the election, I have nothing to lose. I am gainfully employed so I am not contesting because I do not have job. Apart from that, I do not play politics of bitterness. Those who are close to me can attest to this. It is not a do or die affair for me. But I want the whole process to be transparent.

I will continue to do my best until Abia is freed. Let me tell you this, if I become the FA Chairman of Abia State, God’s Own State football will be a model for others to emulate. That is the burning desire in me because I know what I can do. I have partners within and outside the state to take football to higher height. I want to leverage on my contacts and experience to change the narrative in Abia Football.