kayode OGUNDARE
@kaybaba99
On the 6th of August, 2010, the first ever copy of i-Soccer hit the newsstand in anticipation of the 88th edition of the Community Shield, the traditional English Premier League season opener and last week Sunday, the 93rd edition of the Community Shield was played at Wembley with a review edition the following day.
What that meant, in essense, is that your favourite newsmagazine is five years old! What it means is that for five good years, you have kept faith with us and made us your number one come rain, come shine and high water. What that meant was that in the last five years we have ensured that the paper gets into your hands no matter the situation of the country.
Has it been easy delivering the paper to you every edition? Certainly not! For those who have been there with us from the very beginning, and I can count a lot of them who are still here today, you’ll remember that we started out as a bi-weekly, reaching you on Fridays (previews) and Tuesdays (Reviews) but along the line the biting reality of print journalism set in and we had to scale down our operations and, rather than pack it in and call it a day, we decided that once a week is better than nothing. That’s the proverbial half bread being better than no bread at all
For the benefit of those who joined this train midway, i-Soccer was birthed with a clear mandate which was to give readers value for money and be as interactive as possible with the readers who, ultimately, are the kings and queens.
And, without being immodest, I daresay we came out of the starting bloc roaring. It is on record that we organized, within our first year of existence, the Win A Trip bonanza which promised to send two lucky readers to watch the 2011 Champions League final at the Wembley Stadium. Nubi Felix and Iyabode Thompson were the lucky winners of the star prize but there were other consolation prizes worth hundreds of thousands.
This action, for a newspaper still in its infancy, was a mark of appreciation by the management to the faithful readers who resolved from the first day to make i-Soccer the market leader in international football news reporting. We ensured that nothing stood between us and the pact we made to deliver fresh, hot, juicy and credible news to our ever-increasing band of readers. Not even the Fuel Subsidy nationwide strike of 2013 which paralysed the country was able to stop our circulation.
Time rolled by and we were soon celebrating our second year on the newsstand. However, a huge majority of our readers felt it was improper and unsportsmanlike for us to restrict the celebration of something as momentous as our birthday to our office alone and clamoured for an all-inclusive celebration.
The management listened to these agitations and made a solemn promise that by the time we marked our third year on the newsstand, it was going to be in style. And they did deliver on that promise as we spared no expenses on bringing a select number of fans to our MEET & GREET, the epic event to celebrate our 3rd anniversary in August 2013 which is still the talk of those who attended and those who couldn’t. We had readers/fans who came from as far as Owerri, Ibadan, Ijebu and other places to show the diverse nature of our fanbase.
For us here, it was an opportunity to meet some of the guys who have come to be a part of our lives every Tuesday and Friday. I was particularly pleased to meet people like Olumide Agbede, Sir Mike, and Olatunji Apampa who’s now a very dear friend of my family. I was also thrilled to meet Pa Ajiboye who, in his 70s, showed that i-Soccer is loved by both the young and the old. There were other guys and ladies there on the day which remains indelible for as long as this newspaper exists.
We moved on to season four and the clouds, which had been gathering for a while, became a torrent of rain. Unfavourable government policies, in large parts, led to a dwindling of revenues and suddenly, the management was forced to make very tough but necessary decisions.
First, the glossy paper on which the paper was printed had to go but whatever was gained from that move was just like a drop in the ocean.We also had to re-organise and scale down from being a bi-weekly which came out every Friday and Tuesday to a weekly, coming out every Monday.
Another option mooted was the increment of the cover price to cover production costs but the management was insistent that that was a no-go area. Rather than increase the cover price, a 10 naira reduction of price and 100% increment in pages from the old eight to 16 pages was introduced.
This was a brave move in any language and one you won’t readily find in any business management manual. Yet, the dark clouds refused to go away and, at a point, the idea of resting the paper was mooted as it continued to lose money. If it was not making money, then it shouldn’t be a bottomless pit through which scarce resources was guzzled.
Kudos to the management which refused to throw in the towel chiefly for two reasons, namely, I-Soccer was not the only publication going through this turbulence. You can check with your vendor the number of publications which had sprung up in the last five years but which, sadly, are off the market today because of the hostile operating environment.
Secondly, the management is convinced that i-Soccer still remains the most credible source of facts, figures and information on international football available in the country and that we owe a social responsibility to our readers to keep giving them what they want, when they want and how they want it.
Towards this end, we went digital and our online platform www.isoccerng.com is the website of choice for those who prefer their news oven-fresh and authentic. Do make time to check it out if you haven’t already.
This tenacity and never-say-die attitude of the organization has not seen an overnight transformation in the fortunes of the newspaper but the signs and feedback that we get is that we may finally turn the corner if we keep doing what we are doing and, more importantly, if you keep supporting i-Soccer faithfully as you have done in the last five years.
We appreciate those who have kept the faith in the last five years. We appreciate those who joined the train midway and we appreciate those who keep spreading the gospel of i-Soccer everywhere they find themselves.
I was pleasantly surprised when a reader stuck his neck out for the credibility of i-Soccer on an internet chat-forum. This kind of testimony can only help to further spread the gospel of the paper and, in turn, help us not only to stay on the newsstand but to remain the number one authority on international football.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the story of i-Soccer in the last five years. It is the story of fortitude and forbearance. It is the story of tenacity and never-say-die determination. It is the story of swimming against the tide. It is our story. It is your story.
Words fail me in thanking all those who deserve thanks for their contribution to this newspaper. First, and deservedly so, the Group Managing Director Alhaji Mumini Alao for his unflinching support and belief in what we are doing.
In five years, he has never for once dictated what we should do or not do even though he has the powers to impose on us. Then, every editorial staff that’s ever worked on this paper from inception to this present moment has in their own little way helped to shape this paper into what it is today.
To all our loyal fans and esteemed parliamentarians who have kept faith in the last five years, I say let’s keep on walking together into the next five years. We are here because you are there. Merci beacoup.
And to God almighty who’s sustained us these past five years, glory be to His majesty.
COMMENTS