The week is beaming with a lot of excitements for sports enthusiasts, especially foot-ball fans. And it is no other than the results of the quarter-fi-nals of the ongoing UEFA Champi-ons League first leg matches played on Tuesday and Wednesday. While the results of three of the quarter-finals were not unexpect-ed, however, the outcome of the tie between Arsenal and Real Madrid at the Emirates on Tuesday was a result that shook the fabric of foot-ball world. The 3-0 bashing of Real Madrid has generated a lot of excite-ment and disenchantment, depend-ing on the side of the divide chosen. While Arsenal fans are on cloud nine, that is not the case with Ma-drid fans, who were dumbfounded not just for losing 3-0, but with the way and the manner they were out-classed by the Gunners turning all predictions before the game kicked off into nothing. Jude Bellingham, Madrid’s mid-fielder, admitted this much in an in-terview after the game. “We were not even close. That is the truth, and Arsenal were really good. I know two of their goals came from free-kicks, but they could have scored many more, they punished us, and that is what happens at the highest level of football.” Arsenal players and their man-agers need to keep their heads low. Beating Real Madrid is no feat, it is not an achievement; the feat is winning the Champions League in May. They should remember that they have a second leg game at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Though I concede that the players should be allowed to enjoy the mo-ment, they need to understand that several clubs in the past have lost such a huge goal margin in the re-verse fixture. Bellingham believes in the pos-sibility of a comeback at the Bern-abéu, saying, “There is a second leg and that is what we are holding on to. We need something really spe-cial, something crazy. But if there is a place where crazy things hap-pen, it is our home. We are still alive. We have 90 minutes of football and anything can happen at the Bern-abeu, We’ve got 90 more minutes at home to pull something out of the bag. We are still alive, we have got 90 minutes of football (left),” he added. Federico Valverde also expressed such sentiment, saying, “What hap-pened to us? This cannot happen. We have 90 more minutes, and we have to show that we are Real Madrid. We have 15 Champions Leagues. We need to score in the first 15 minutes. If we score in the first 15 minutes we will win. We will come back!” Nigerian Gbenga Okunowo also believes in the ability of Ma-drid turning the tide against Arse-nal. “Arsenal played a good game against Real Madrid,” he admitted, adding, “I believe Real Madrid have a chance in the second leg. We have seen teams lose heavily in the first leg and come back in the second leg, so they still have a chance to qualify for the semifinals.” One of Madrid’s key midfielder, Dani Ceballos, who missed the first leg, should be free for the Wednes-day fight at the Bernabeu. Enough of international football for now, let’s look at Nigerian sports. What is the direction of Nigerian sports today? There is no specific answer to this question. The answer is dependent on the divide one be-longs. Any government official, or those dependent on government for survival, will tell you that Nigerian sports is on the upward swing. But anyone who does not belong to any of the above two groups will tell you that Nigerian sport is in disarray. Forget all the shenanigans going on, because the more you look the less you see. Most of the sporting events we applaud today are nothing but an avenue for government officials to defraud the country of hard earned resources. And this brings me to the Nige-ria Olympics Committee plan to bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games. During the week, the body released a statement intimating Nigerians of to officially bid for the Games, with a proviso that the Federal gov-ernment gives its nod to the plan. We all know that no international body will accept your bid for any of the international sporting events without the host government writ-ten commitment to fully support the Games or the sport be it foot-ball, athletics, basketball or even volleyball. In short, any sport for that matter. In order to get the public to back it, the NOC stated some of the per-ceived advantages the country will get if the country’s bid is successful. The NOC in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Tony Nezianya, noted that Nigeria’s bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Abuja would present a unique op-portunity to showcase its develop-ment, enhance its global standing, and invigorate its sports culture. “A bid process would enhance an investment in Sports Infra-structure as bidding for the Games can catalyse investments in sports infrastructure and facilities across the country, particularly in Abu-ja, which can revitalise the local sports-economy and improve na-tional sports facilities for future generations. “Hosting the Games would ini-tiate the construction and upgrad-ing of sports venues, transportation systems, and accommodations, cre-ating lasting benefits for the sports community and the general popu-lation. “This can significantly boost tourism by attracting visitors from around the world. This influx would undoubtedly support local business-es, create jobs, and boost the hospi-tality sector. “The preparation and execution phases of the Games will generate numerous jobs, from event manage-ment to construction, fostering local enterprise and skills development. “It would inspire a new genera-tion of athletes by providing them with the motivation and support to pursue excellence in sports. “It positions Nigeria as a coun-try that values athletic achievement and fosters talent.” All the above benefits to the country have always been the mantra when a group of Nigeri-ans decide that the country should host an international tournament. What happened to the many facili-ties built to host the international events such as the All Africa Games in 1093 and 2003, the FIFA U-17, U-20 World Cups? They’ve been left to rot. National edifices such as the National Stadium, in Lagos and Abuja, Obafemi Awolowo stadium, formerly Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello Stadium Kaduna, Nnamdi Azikwe Stadium, Enugu, built for the purpose of hosting one event or the other, but have become relics. What assurance do we have that the facilities that will be built will not suffer same fate? If not for Akwa Ibom state government built stadium in Uyo, the country would have played its World Cup and Afri-ca Cup of Nations qualifying games outside the country. This is because that’s is the only stadium that meet FIFA and CAF standards. Imagine, South Africa facilities built for the 2010 World Cup is the ones Zimba-bwe, Lesotho are using for their World Cup qualifying games. Let us admit that the country wants to organise only the Core Sports, do we as a country has the fa-cilities to organize all of them? What happens to Optional Sports and Lo-cal Demand Sports? Do you expect the countries that excel in the later two classes of sports to support our bid knowing fully well that they’ve been denied their advantage? Aside the above, there are some sports whose facilities we have to build from the crash. Sports that the country is not noted for. Let us even not bother ourselves with facilities. Can the country put in place before 2030 infrastructure that will aid a good organisation of the Games? Electricity in the country is at an appalling stage. Our road net-works are in decrepit state. In fact, our road networks are deathtraps. Sixty years after independence no railway network. Airports are just for ego. The only advantage is that some people will have to travel across globe trying to convince Common-wealth countries on why Nigeria bid is the best. If not, it is another wild goose chase.