A player with a grassroots football club, Saga FC, Abuja, Joshua Ibrahim, has urged the federal and state governments to provide the infrastructure needed to develop sports at the grassroots.
Ibrahim made the plea while speaking with the Tidesports  yesterday  in Lagos on the just-concluded football trials organised by U.K.-based Diamond Academy to scout for talents.
The one week trials conducted in partnership with Ezeani Football Academy, Nneni, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra ended on Friday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
Ibrahim, who participated in the trials, expressed dissatisfaction with the poor development of grassroots football in the country, saying that the country needed to do more to get the best out of players at that level.
“The poor facilities on ground, especially in the rural communities, poverty and poor funding has not really helped the growth of local players at the grassroots level.
“As a player who has been to countries like Sweden, Italy and others, the standard over there is quite different from what is obtainable here in Nigeria.
“Nigeria is far behind but could do a lot more than we are doing now in terms of facilities and how the players are treated because football is psychological.
“If your players are not being treated the way they should, it will definitely affect their performances.
“In terms of facilities, the situation on ground in Abuja, and I believe in other parts of the country, is that where the Academy trains in Lugbe.
“The pitch is sandy and as a result we have to come to Lagos a week ahead of the trials in order to get used to the synthetic pitch,” he told Tidesports source.
Tidesports reports that Charles Ezeani, a lawmaker in the Anambra State House of Assembly and the Proprietor, Ezeani FC of Nnneni, Anambra, also told Tidesports source that he was disappointed with the poor treatment given to grassroots football.
“Grassroots football development in the country is very poor. Ordinarily, one should have expected that government should assist by putting up infrastructure that will guarantee these players proper training.
“In my own case in Anambra’s Anaocha Constituency II that I represent, to be precise, where we play this football, if you come there of course you will shed tears because there’s no infrastructure at all.
“The field is so poor with stones everywhere and the rest of them, but if government as expected, puts up a lot of structures and sports infrastructure, it will encourage those who want to sponsor this kind of programme to come on board.
“Sometimes, we train in my own compound as a result of the bad pitch and it is very bad. Government should appropriate funds to empower youths,” Ezeani said.