PH Real Madrid Academy 

At the 81st AIPS Congress in Brussels, Belgium, in May 2018, Governor Nyesom Wike, who re
ceived the AIPS African Sports Power Award, showed off his plans to build a Real Madrid Football Academy in Port Harcourt. Later in the same month, AIPS President, Gianni Merlo, visited Nigeria on May 28, 2018, to witness the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Ahmad Ahmad, laying the cornerstone of the project.
History was made when last week, Youth and Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, inaugurated the Academy in Port Harcourt. Dare acknowledged the institution’s standards and asserted that they would improve the development of national football. He recognised that the Academy represented a viable and long-term investment in human resources and capital development, as well as a huge income for the country.
“Our hope is that the Rivers Academy would produce renowned superstars that will toe the paths of the aforementioned legends. Hence, today’s event is a milestone for the actualisation of a new era. The Real Madrid Football Academy, Port Harcourt, which was founded in 2019 after Rivers State was given the franchise to operate by the Real Madrid Foundation, has been completed in a record time with the main objective to promote the values in football as a profession,” said Dare.
Wike explained that the reason for the creation of the Real Madrid Academy was to develop young talents with excellent football skills. “I have gone with leaders of the state to watch matches in Madrid. But one thing that has touched me is what can we do because we have a lot of talented young boys who have potentials but there is no way to actualise them”.
An interestingly bewildered Super Eagles’ Coach, Gernot Rohr, acknowledged that Real Madrid’s Port Harcourt Academy could rival the best football academies in the world. After a thorough tour of the soccer institution, Rohr was compelled to admire the project and its facilitator, Governor Wike.
He said, “The infrastructure is high level, it’s like in Europe and you can compare with one of the best academies in Europe as they have in Spain; Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia or in France in Paris (PSG) and Germany in Bayern Munich. I think they (Real Madrid Academy, Port Harcourt) are ready to start this programme with these wonderful structures and also with a good pitch. It will be very interesting to see what they can do.”
Similarly, Augustine Eguavoen, former Super Eagles player and coach, was impressed by the quality of the infrastructure. “I don’t think any other academy will beat this (in Nigeria) except maybe if you come in here and you have an interest and are passionate about what you want to achieve and when you see this, you want to better this. But for now, I don’t think anyone will be able to better it,” he stated.
Real Madrid has signed a technical support contract for the school with the Rivers State Government. In collaboration with the Spanish football club, the educational institution trains future stars between the ages of 5 and 17. The Spanish giant transferred the Rivers State franchise in 2019.
The Academy is an educational tool for the development of our younger generation through job and wealth creation. It divides its activities into sports, educational and cultural. This is in line with its philosophy of combining education and sports. The combination is unique to football academies around the world.
The facilities at the football training school are not only world-class but also feature architectural elegance that draws students to the best. The vision of uniting sports and academics echoes the saying “sports and education are inseparable” and is a prerequisite for the future of our youth and our nation.
In addition to outdoor facilities including soccer fields and well-built swimming pools, there are academic blocks to house classrooms, staff rooms, student residences, ICT classrooms, biology, physics and chemistry laboratories, restaurants, and other facilities.  Furthermore, it has a football field, fitness centre, water treatment facilities, campground, and an accessible learning environment. Truly, it is a well-organised structure.
With rich football abilities, Nigeria continues to export footballers all over the world. So, Wike’s Academy offers another opportunity to create jobs and export talents to other countries. We congratulate the governor on his imagination, prescience and determination to building an academy consistent with the Federal Government’s development schedule for youths.
This institution will not only give birth to golden boys and girls but also bring prosperity and honour to our great country. What Wike has portended is awesome and tremendous. The Academy is a remarkable success capable of inspiring a new generation of proficient people.
Earlier, officials of the soccer college had stated that the school was tuition-free to all Rivers State indigenes, who would constitute 70 per cent of the students’ population, while 30 per cent would be open to trainee-footballers from other states across the country. This is plausible because it gives Rivers’ indigenes a sense of belonging. However, we hope that the admission procedure will be fair and open to all without room for politicisation and “man-know-man”. Again, how will the common person access the 70% admission quota for indigenes?
It is essential to make certain the continuity of this meritorious undertaking. This could be very critical to us, especially given the tendency of Nigerian leaders to abandon initiatives inherited from previous governments. It would be inappropriate for this worthy enterprise to close down upon His Excellency’s exit because too many resources have been invested in it.
Since sports remain one of the unifying elements in Nigeria, (especially football) through developing the Real Madrid Academy, Governor Wike is promoting national unity. In consequence of this Academy, Rivers people look forward to an exact replication of exceptional soccer gamers like Adokiye Amiesimaka, Richard Owubokiri, Taribo West, Finidi George, and Joseph Yobo including many other stars the Academy will subsequently produce.