50 Nigerian Footballers For Training In Romania

Fifty talented young Nigerian football players are soon to travel to Romania for a training programme initiated by a sports management firm, an official said.

Markus Makan, a Director of Baba Sport Management Company, told journalists over the weekend in Abuja that the training would be for a period of four months.

Makan, a Nigerian based in Romania, said that the project was in collaboration with Club Sportive Professional Football Training Centre, Ordea, Romania.

He said that skillful players between the ages of 17 and 25 would be selected to participate in the programme.

Makan said that he decided to organise the programme because of the difficulties being faced by good Nigerian players who struggle to go to Europe to further their careers.

“Why I came up with the idea is because when I look at Nigerian football, the standard has fallen and we really need something to help the sport develop at the grass roots,’’ he said.

Makan said that the players will have professional training in Romania and after three months they will be in Belgium to give them opportunity with clubs.

“They will engage in friendly matches to show what they have, and hopefully get contracts in some European clubs,’’ the sports consultant said.

He said that modalities for selection of the players had been made with the country divided into 10 zones for the screening.

It was gathered that the trial will start on March 7 in Sokoto, with trials following in other zones such as Kaduna, Jos, Enugu, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Warri, Benin, Lagos and Abuja.

The first 25 players will make their way to Romania from May to August and the second batch will be from November to February 2013, Makan said.