Sports
Harnessing Youth Talents Through Soccer Academies
Youth soccer academies are institutions charged with identifying and training budding soccer talents for future use in big football clubs and national teams.
Sports analysts note that these academies have become veritable means of nurturing and grooming promising young footballers until they are mature for maximum exposure in clubs.
They add that many of the renowned soccer stars were discovered and nurtured via this process.
For those that evolved the strategy, their guiding principle is, perhaps, in line with the popular axiom that says “stars are not just born but they are also made’’.
FIFA, the world soccer governing body, apparently shares the vision, as it has consistently been promoting the formation youth academies, so as to identify talented footballers early in life and nurture them for future stardom.
On Feb 1, 2009, FIFA, in an apparent move to protect the age-group teams, particularly those with players below the age of 18 years, decided that there would be an additional need for FIFA’s approval to achieve successful transfers.
In essence, the new rule is aimed at establishing the consent of the players, their parents and national football federations in such transfers and FIFA says that the regulation applies to all its 208 affiliate nations.
FIFA also initiated age-group competitions to sharpen the focus of the young soccer talents, while gauging their performances.
In1985, FIFA created the JVC U-16 World Youth Championship, which was eventually upgraded to become the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Since then, the world soccer body had initiated other global age-group tournaments such as the U-21 World Cup and the Olympic soccer event for U-23s.
Nigeria won the maiden edition of the JVC Cup in China in 1985, while she also won the upgraded FIFA U-17 in 1993 in Japan. The country later won the 2007 edition of the tournament in South Korea.
Sports pundits note that many Nigerian stars like Wilson Oruma, Nduka Ugbade, Victor Igbinoba, Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Ikpeba, Tijani Babangida, Austin ‘Jay Jay” Okocha, Celestine Babayaro and Emmanuel Babayaro were products of the age-group competitions.
The star players were recruited by top European clubs; where they developed their skills and became celebrities.
Nigeria again proved that she had become a force to be reckoned with in football at the 1996 Atlanta Games in the U.S., where she won the Olympic soccer gold. This, she did at the expense of soccer giants like Brazil and Argentina.
Argentina fought back at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing to keep Nigeria in check with a lone goal to clinch the Olympic gold.
Other African countries like Ghana, Cameroon and Gambia have also performed well in global age-group soccer tournaments.
Since then, many academies have sprung up in some African countries, including Nigeria, to produce young soccer talents.
Soccer academies have been established in Ghana, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroons and Nigeria but observers note that their operations have been fraught with some inherent problems that limited their growth.
Soccer pundits note that many of the academies have not been affiliated to clubs, while their products have been unable to play for local or foreign clubs.
They also observe that the standard of the soccer academies in Africa was far below of the standard of those in Europe which strive to achieve a healthy mix of soccer training and schooling.
It was, perhaps, the need to bridge this yawning gap that compelled Gov. Bukola Saraki of Kwara to team up with Kojo Williams, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), to establish a soccer academy known as “Ilorin School of Football Excellence’’.
The academy was patterned after European soccer academies but Saraki and Williams parted ways, shortly before the inauguration of the academy. Even Clemence Westahoff, a one-time Technical Adviser to the Super Eagles, who was engaged as the academy’s Director, soon left after some misunderstanding.
The question, therefore, is: What are the missing links responsible for the problems of soccer academies in Africa?
A recent tour of the German league, “Bundesliga’’, reveals that the German model of soccer academy has some elements that are glaringly deficient in African soccer academies.
Kay Oliver-Lagendoff, Press Officer of the Deutsche Fusball Liga (DFL), otherwise known the Bundesliga, said that the setting up of soccer academies in Germany was part of the conditions specified by all 36 clubs that founded the Bundesliga in 2001.
“It is an integral part of the Bundesliga licensing package that all soccer clubs should have academies.
“After Germany failed at ‘Italia ‘90’ and in some other competitions, it dawned on us that something should be done to re-build our national teams,’’ Oliver-Lagendoff said, adding: “There is also the need to rekindle the interest of youths in organised soccer.’’
Oliver-Lagendoff said that the academies were also meant to serve as a reservoir of players for German clubs.
“It is also part of the strategy to reduce the clubs’ over-dependence on foreign players. The process also aims at raising national teams that comprise appreciable number of youths, who were hitherto derailing and needed to be refocused,’’ he said.
Oliver-Lagendoff said that with the right marketing mix, there was a strong desire to fill stadiums with well-groomed professionals with the right mentality to raise the profile of the Bundesliga.
“It was decided that the academies remain the best option to sustain the supply chain of talents to clubs and national teams. The strategy paid off, as the academies now guarantee a steady source of employment to many German youths,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Kay Dammholz, Vice-President (Sales, Audio Visual Rights) of the Bundesliga, noted that as at Sept. 1, this year, of the 5,000 youths registered in soccer academies across Germany, 110 made it into the Bundesliga, while 88 made it into Bundesliga 2.
He said that the academies’ operations by the clubs had since been standardised.
“They are expected to have U-9, U-10, U-11 teams without any form of restrictions. They also have U-12, U-13, U-14, U-15 squads and one team can have up to 22 players.
“They are also expected to have high-performance categories, made up of U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-19 teams and one team can have up to 22 players.
“They are also to have the U-16 to U-19 category, of which 12 of the players must be eligible to play for a German FA Youth National Team,’’ he said.
Besides, Dammholz said that the Bundesliga had a standing committee that toured the clubs to ensure that recommended standards were strictly adhered to.
“The committee also helps to ensure that the there is a healthy marriage between schooling and soccer,’’ he said.
Stefan Satore, the Head Coach of the FSA Mainz 05 Academy, said that “with the right mix of education and soccer, the academy ensures the breeding of talents for senior teams.
“We work with schools to ensure that our products take their academic work as seriously as they take their soccer careers,’’ hen said.
Commenting on the German experience, Mitchell Obi, a journalist, and Nkechi Obi, a sports marketer, stressed the need to promote a mix of education and sports in Nigeria, so as to ensure that footballers, even after their sporting careers, would be able to migrate to other vocations without problems.
“It is at the youth level that the philosophies of professionalism and team spirit can be instilled in the players,’’ Mitchell said.
Emeka Odikpo, a sports commentator, said: “Although some soccer academies currently exist across Nigeria, they have been largely unable to place their players in local or foreign clubs.
“What then is their use if they unable to place players in clubs?’’ he asked, stressing that “the academies must be affiliates of clubs to facilitate the easy movement of their products into clubs either at home or abroad.
“The Nigeria Football Federation or the National League Board should make it mandatory for clubs to own academies, as this will enable the products of the academies to be gainfully engaged in the clubs. This is the only way to appreciate the academies’ usefulness,’’ Odikpo said.
He noted that all the members of the Swedish team to the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup hosted by Nigeria were all products of their soccer academies, adding: “Their clinical finish at the tournament was an indication of their good upbringing.’’
Nnamdi Okosieme, the Sports Editor of Next Newspapers, who also took part in the German Bundesliga tour, said that “efforts should be made to replicate the German model of soccer academy in Nigeria’’.
Nezianya writes for News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Tony Nezianya
Sports
Nigeria Cricket Federation Re-Elects Akpata President

Akpata emerged unopposed during the federation’s annual general meeting and board elections, which ended in Abuja on Saturday.
The election was decided by 37 delegates, with 12 other board members also emerging, to steer the affairs of the federation for the next four years.
Former Kwara State stalwart, Wale Obalola, emerged as the vice president at the election.
Representative of the South-West on the NCF board, Tayo Atoloye, also returned for another term, while team manager of the Junior Female Yellow Greens, Femi John, was elected as the representative of the South-South on the board.
Other zonal representatives are Chika Okoro (South-East), Ladan Usman (North-West), Dare Aimola (North-Central), and Zainab Adamu (North-East).
Former captain of the men’s national team, Endurance Ofem, secured 30 of the 37 votes to beat another ex-player, Chimezie Onwuzulike, for the players’ representative seat.
Olumide Akinkokun emerged as the technical representative, Prof Mariam Suleiman will represent the National Association of Women in Sports, Chuma Anosike as the sponsors’ representative, while the military and paramilitary will be represented on the board by Major Monica Wabulla.
The president, Akpata, was first elected in 2021 and has driven the growth of Nigerian cricket in the last four years.
Part of his notable achievements include the heavy investment in infrastructure and high-performance, national grassroots development programmes, as well as the introduction of professional contracts for Nigerian players.
Earlier this year, the women’s U-19 team finished sixth at the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, after the senior team had won a historic bronze medal at the last edition of the African Games in Ghana in 2024.
Nigeria has also bagged several International Cricket Council awards in recognition of the country’s strides towards growing the game, especially for women.
Sports
Nathaniel hopes to inspire young Nigerians after feat

The 22-year-old ran a scorching 47.11 seconds in Friday’s final, smashing his previous national record of 47.31 seconds set earlier this year and becoming only the second Nigerian since Henry Amike in 1987 to reach the 400m hurdles final at the World Championships.
“I hope this performance will inspire young Nigerian athletes,” Nathaniel said after the dramatic final
“This is a great opportunity to learn from the world’s best athletes.”
The race saw American Rai Benjamin storm to victory in 46.52 seconds to finally clinch his first world championship gold medal after two silvers and a bronze, but not without drama.
Benjamin was initially disqualified for crashing into the final hurdle and affecting other athletes, briefly elevating Nathaniel to bronze position. However, the American’s appeal was quickly upheld and he was restored to the top of the timesheet.
Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos claimed silver in 46.84 seconds, while Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba took bronze in 47.06 seconds, leaving Nathaniel agonisingly close to Nigeria’s second medal of the championships.
Despite the near-miss, Nathaniel remained philosophical about the disqualification reversal.
It’s a fair call,” the Nigerian said.
“He put in a lot of work to get that medal and if they are trying to rip off from that, I don’t think that’s fair. He didn’t deliberately knock over the hurdle, that could happen to anyone.”
The former 800m runner, who competes for Baylor University in Texas, expressed satisfaction with his performance and hinted at greater things to come saying, “I still have a lot of potential. I am pleased because I did my best and I ran a personal record. I have it in me and just need to wait for the right time. For now, I am enjoying the process.”
Nathaniel’s rapid rise in the event has been remarkable. Born in 2003, he broke a decades-old Nigerian record set by Henry Amike when he ran 48.42 seconds at the Big 12 Conference meet in 2022 as a freshman.
His progress accelerated dramatically this year. In June, he won the NCAA Outdoor Championships title in Eugene, Oregon, clocking 47.49 seconds – the third fastest time in NCAA history. He also became the first man in NCAA history to run a sub-48-second time in the 400m hurdles semifinal, recording 47.86 seconds.
The Tokyo performance adds another chapter to what has been an exceptional year for the young hurdler, who has now established himself among the world’s elite quarter-mile hurdlers.
While Nathaniel’s fourth-place finish matches Amike’s result from the 1987 World Championships in Rome, his national record performance signals a bright future for Nigerian athletics in the event.
Nigeria’s campaign in Tokyo concluded with Tobi Amusan as the country’s only medallist, though this still represented an improvement over the Budapest World Championships where Team Nigeria ended empty-handed.
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