Things were getting desperate, fixtures were piling up and, more importantly, the coffers were running low. It worked. Or, at least, it sort of worked. The ice sheet melted away like a DFC defence at the feet of Luggy and Ralphie, but all the grass was burned off too! And the name stuck. And anyway, it is the fans who are known as Arabs, not the team. More investigation was required. Gamal Abdel Nasser was the de facto leader of the Arab world, from his election as president of Egypt in and throughout the s.
He was a giant of Middle Eastern politics. He defied the West during the Suez Crisis and became the figurehead of pan-Arabism, the push to unite all Arab nations.
He inspired devotion from his followers and fear in European capitals in equal measure. One important stipulation in the new set up was that the bottom two clubs at the end of would drop out.
Unfortunately, Dundee Hibs were one of those sides and the Club again found itself in the football wilderness. In the run up to , the Dundee Hibs Directors desperately held on to the hope of redemption but in so doing, almost missed the chance to play in any other league. Mere days away from extinction, the Club was handed a lifeline when they were offered a place in the Scottish Alliance League, which was in effect the reserve league for the First Division sides.
Hibs struggled through that campaign but all the while, the Directors were canvassing support for a return to the Scottish League. They worked tirelessly in the Dundee Hibs cause and it paid off when the Club was voted back into the Second Division for Dundee United Football Club. About United. The response was furious. But then Mr Cameron was only being true to type. It is a fact that European reporters who visit Africa only file back what their kinsfolk want to read: bizarre and irrelevant happenings.
The Renaissance, a daily newspaper from Enugu, in the south-east of the country, went one step further. They played football — second rate. And Nigerians were treated to second rate amateurism. This is the level to which we are plunging this country. Can someone save us these pains?
We need an inquiry, why did the Dundee come? For now, Dundee fare-well. For Ever, Good-bye. The demand for a public inquiry may seem a strong reaction to a win, two draws and two defeats — and it is worth keeping in mind that these were exhibition matches — but aside from showing where the Dundee-Dundee United confusion came from, the piece is pretty representative of the rest of the press.
From there, it seems, a seed had been planted. Aided by media coverage, the name stuck, and from early June onwards, a Dundee United was a fool in Nigeria. Yet, as time passes, and with United no longer hitting the heights of their success in the s, it seems the phrase has become so disconnected from its origins that many Nigerians will call each other Dundee Uniteds, or Dundees, without knowing either football club exists.
The existence of Dundee University too must be somewhat confusing for those who only know the word from the Nigerian use. Amara is a Nigerian-Scot who works in Dundee, but says that he has never felt the need to mention use of the phrase to colleagues. And so it seems use of the phrase continues. But what about Chubbey, the man who introduced Scotland to the label back in ?
As it happens, he left Lagos years ago. He says he is happy and in good health, though he was slightly bemused to learn of his role in the story. Approached for comment, he just laughed. The unlikely story of how 'Dundee United' became an insult in Nigeria. A general view of the Dundee United badge. The joy of seeing a football stadium for the first time. Read more. The joy of going to football matches with your grandpa and his friends.
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