A Nigerian sports entrepreneur says he will target the nation’s grassroots in a bid to unearth new football talent.
Onojah Ojjonugwa Shedrach, Chief Executive Officer of Attah Football scouting agency, stated this in Abuja
Onojah, a licenced football intermediary by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said this was the fastest way of sustaining Nigeria’s youth football development
“Initially, all his life, I wanted to become a professional football athlete because of the love I have for sport and football to be precise but I never had the opportunity, avenue and privileges due to some unforeseen circumstances and that was actually what stop me from achieving it,” he said.
“One of the major reason why I decided to become a licence football intermediary is because I have seen a lot of talent and potentials in young players out there who has no support at all running in the street without help. I really want to promote grassroots football in Nigeria, Africa and elsewhere because of the passion I have for football development,” he added.
The Kogi-born Football enthusiast said he decided to set up a football agency and obtain a licence from the NFF to help him represent young aspiring football athletes and negotiate profitable deals on their behalf.
Onojah said a very well-structured scouting system will be also valuable to the emergence of strong youth national teams.
Progress
Nigeria’s youth football scene has witnessed a revival in recent months following the victorious outings of the U-20 (Flying Eagles) and the U-17 (Golden Eaglets) national teams respectively in the West African Football Union (WAFU-B) tournaments held in Niger and Ghana this year respectively.
Nigeria won both tournaments and will compete at the U-20 and U-17 AFCON tournaments in 2023.
According to football data firm Transfermakt, the Nigerian senior male national team – The Super Eagles – is worth 236 Million Euros.
