Former Director-General of the National Sports Commission, Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye, former Secretary-General of the Nigeria Football Federation, Fanny Amu, and a prominent football promoter in Nigeria, Comrade Bishop Amakri have hailed the efforts of former Super Eagles player, Femi Ajilore in developing youth football in Nigeria through his football Academy.
The football personalities stated this at the occasion of the closing ceremony of the Femi Ajilore and Makings Football Academy Summer Football School which took place at the PSI playing pitch located at Mabushi in the Federal Capital Territory.
The closing ceremony witnessed an entertaining display of football artistry by the young lads who were on parade to the admiration of the dignitaries and spectators alike at the venue.
Speaking with our correspondent. Elegbeleye whose son was among the players that featured at the summer school hailed the former Nigeria Dream team player stressing that the Nation needs more programs like that where the basics of football training will be impacted on them.
He was full of praise for Femi Ajilore and his partner, Makings football Academy, urging them to continue using their experience in doing more for the Nigerian youths.
Speaking, “I quite impressed. I saw good ball from the children and I saw a very good organization too from the Femi Ajilore academy and that is quite encouraging. It shows that our future stars are been groomed now. If you what the younger boys displayed today and with the talent they have. I am sure Nigeria will benefit from it.
“It’s not everybody that can run a successful football Academy. Femi Ajilore played in Nigeria, he played in Europe and he has witnessed good football Academy and he is probably using that experience to train the younger generation in Nigeria.
The former NSC Director-General had some words of advice for the parents,
“And I want to advise the parents not to keep your boys in school alone. Give them the opportunity to showcase their talents and the gift they have, and those of them who are interested in football and girls too should be encouraged because you never can tell. All school, school, and school do not always make you a successful person in life.
“So, we have so many of our young stars who ordinarily should be football stars today but their parents did not encourage them. I really want to advice parents that if they have such children who are interested in football or interested in one other sport or the other encourage him or her. That might be your retirement benefit,”
In his own submission, former Nigeria Football Federation Secretary General, Fanny Amu maintained that programs like this are very beneficial to young footballers, lamenting that most Nigerian players were never exposed to such basics of football which is the reason most of them struggle to fit in when they travel abroad.
“It’s elementary, it’s good. That is what a lot of us never went through at a tender age. Those are the basic requirement a youth player desires. That is what is lacking between us and the foreign players. They are exposed to these basics at a very tender age. I think it is only fair that sometimes you should learn and get it right.
“I prefer to assess them from the training angle. So, what you saw was a normal game not from a training angle. The game has shown that there is that individualism in them which I believe the coaches would have seen and found a way to build upon it,”
Comrade Bishop Amakri showered encomium on the organisers noting such programs would go a long way into curbing anti-social activities in the society.
“Let me start by commending the organizers. They are doing a great job and honestly, I am impressed with what I am seeing here today. I pray that the parents would understand the impact these people are impacting in the life of their children. Because what you are seeing here today is that in the future you could see great ambassadors of this country from this young lads your seeing. They would become envies of their communities.
“The beauty about the whole thing is that when you engage this young person you are trying to curtail what I call anti-social activities. They are well engaged productively and at the end of the day it is also yielding result positive results in terms of growth. I must commend them and I pray that they will keep this gesture up and must never lower the bar and must continue to be committed in this grassroots development work,” he said
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