Owolabi Urges Talent -Hunt Role For Ex-Internationals

A former Green Eagles player in the 1980s, Felix Owolabi,
has called on the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) to involve
ex-internationals in efforts to develop football at the grassroots level.

Owolabi made the
call while speaking with Tidesports at the wekend in Lagos.

He stressed that since most of the ex-internationals were
products of grassroots football, they would be in  better position to comb the nooks and
crannies of the country for budding talents.

The former Green Eagles’ defender stressed that the country’s
football development programme should be anchored on a comprehensive plan aimed
at monitoring the progress of players closely.

“However, the state of the country’s grassroots football
development is worrisome; we need to adopt a more radical approach to scout for
emerging talents.

“This is where we have to call on the services of our
numerous ex-internationals that are currently idling away; I feel that their
wealth of experience would be needed in this critical area of football
development.

“The only way they could be useful to the country’s football
growth is through their involvement in the NFA’s grassroots football
development programme as talents’ scouts,’’ he said.

Owolabi, a member of the victorious Green Eagles squad that
won the 1980 edition of the African Cup of Nations in Lagos, urged the
Technical Department of the NFA to be more proactive in its approach to
football development.

“Even though we don’t have a Technical Director at the
moment, members of the technical department must be up and doing to ensure that
the country’s football growth is sustained,’’ he said.