It is said that if you plan to embark on a long journey, it is always best to set out early. That perhaps is the philosophy behind the establishment of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) U-15 Promises tournament featuring young lads who have set their future at reaching the heights of the football.
Recognising the essence of continuity in refreshing club squads, the League Management Company (LMC) implemented a long planned NPFL youth league which began simultaneously in Owerri and Oshogbo last week Monday.
It was again a product of the NPFL All-star tour of Spain where club chairmen and managers had first-hand insight into the operations of Valencia CF and subscribed to the start of similar projects at their clubs.
Over the years, club football in Nigeria has witnessed a whirlpool of players rotating around the clubs with ageing players delivering less than stellar performances. Very few truly young players make it to the first teams but interestingly, when they do, they explode like a meteor making it all the way to the national team and earning lucrative contracts abroad.
For the LMC Chairman, Shehu Dikko, “Youth development is part of football. We mandated the clubs to set up their Youth teams, so they can develop talents.
“The competition is a platform for development of talents. We are hoping that these youngsters will graduate from here to the U-17 and U-18, as it is done anyway in the world. This is the core objective”
Domesticating the European variance of Youth League, the LMC created a tournament of four groups which placed the 20 NPFL Clubs in zones at locations not far from their bases. Thus, Owerri played host to clubs in the South East and South-South comprising FC IfeanyiUbah, Rivers United, Abia Warriors, Akwa United and Enyimba International.
Oshogbo was the center for the South West clubs made up of ABS FC, Sunshine Stars, MFM FC, Shooting Stars and Remo Stars. In Abuja are the North Central based clubs including Rangers International from Enugu, Lobi Stars, Niger Tornadoes, Nasarawa United and Plateau United. The last Group which plays in Kaduna are North West and North East teams- Kano Pillars, El-Kanemi Warriors, Gombe United, Wikki Tourists and Katsina United.
Strict criteria was put in place to start early in curbing the notorious age falsification practices that has dogged age grade competitions in sub-Sahara Africa and players. Thus registration of players was prerequisite on presenting a birth certificate, last school result and a letter of identification from the school.
Matches in Group C at the Osogbo City Stadium were concluded on Friday and the centre produced amazing performances from the players. Ten matches witnessed 20 goals scored among the players as Shooting Stars and ABS FC advanced to the quarter-final stages.
At the end of the first group stage games, some of the players spoke on the impact the participation has had on them with most acknowledging it has given them the right perspective and set the tone to pursue their dreams.
Olubode Hassan played for Shooting Stars and scored the first hat-trick of the maiden edition of the tournament against Remo Stars on Matchday 1. He ended the tournament with five goals from four matches, emerging as the top scorer from Osogbo centre.
Hassan, who is a student of Alawo Community Grammar School, Ibadan shone as a goal poacher. He became a big threat to defenders in the tournament spoke of his benefits, “the experience is amazing for me and I will be glad to play for 3SC and in Europe in the future. My parents have encouraged my passion and I got their support to take football as a profession.”
A student of Oyelade Secondary School, Ilorin, Olusegun Olakunle captained ABS FC and inspired the Saraki Boys to second position behind Shooting Stars and a place in the quarter finals. He scored an brace against Sunshine Stars and was a delight to watch with his paced runs down the right flank.
“The competition provided us the opportunity to develop our game and the experience is something that will nurture us.”
Expectedly, he is looking forward to a career at ABS and possibly in Europe with Chelsea which he loves because of Nigerian international, Victor Moses who is his role model.
“My parents have been supportive, providing transport fare to train at the stadium after school hours. They were very excited about the tournament and glad to see me captain the team”, Olakunle told www.npfl.ng
Physically, the smallest in Oshogbo, MFM FC’s Lawal Sulaimon stole the hearts and applause of many with his superb performance such that he became the toast of the fans and applauded at every minute of action. Sulaimon is currently in Senior Secondary School (SSS) 2 at Anwar-Ul-Islam Model College Agege.
He captured the attention of the spectators when he came on as a late substitute against ABS FC on Matchday 1and his amazing runs and beautiful final passes almost gave MFM a late equalizer. He went on to start all the remaining three matches and captained the Lagos side. He scored one and assisted the second against Sunshine Stars.
Awotoye Dayo finished as Remo Stars top scorer with two goals in the tournament, showing flair foe aerial contests and adept at keeping possession of the ball.
A student of Ikenne Community High School in Ogun state, Dayo unlike most of other players have parents who were not sold on having him travel far to play football. “It was the first time I would be travelling out of Ogun state to play football and when my parents heard about the tournament they were jittery to leave me to play football far away from home. They later understood the gains and the possibility to improve my game. It is a great opportunity to represent Remo Stars, the future is what I am hopeful for,” he said.
The tournament continued Monday, April 17 with games in the Kaduna and Abuja groups and there is no doubt that at last a solid foundation has been built for youth development in football.
-Tobi, a sports journalist, was at the Oshogbo Centre of the NPFL U-15