The National Sport Commission, NSC, will hold a special retreat for
players and officials of the victorious Golden Eaglets, to
forestall any untoward incident in their immediate and future careers.
This much was disclosed by the Honourable minister for Sports and
chairman of NSC, Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi during interactions with
officials of the team.
He stated that the baby Eagles must be guided not to make the mistake of some of their predecessors who failed to progress beyond the age-grade level.
He posited that the success of the Eaglets is an eye opener of what can be achieved with careful and detailed plans, adding that the youngsters represent 10 years of Nigerian football if well managed, hence the need for a special retreat for the players as well as their parents and guardians.
“I think a special retreat is necessary for both the players and their parents or guardians, so that all of us would be on the same page
because their future should be of concern to all of us,” said the
Minister who repeatedly warned the Golden Eaglets to remain
focussed despite their present success.
“We at the NSC would not allow the efforts of everybody towards the success of this team to be wasted and, I personally belief that Nigerian football stands to gain much if we can guide these boys very well as regard their future steps.”
Also, erstwhile Golden Eaglets and a member of the NFF Technical committee, Victor Ikpeba said the minister’s position is a welcome development, since experience has shown that not many Nigerian kid stars made a success of their careers, after displaying huge potentials.
The 1997 African Footballer of the Year said: “The minister’s idea is
a very sound one. The NFF and those of us in the technical
committee are looking at various ways to sustaining the momentum
already created by the players and their coaching crew.”
It was learnt that plans are underway to bring together notable
individuals that could help the lads in career and life management.
The retreat is expected to hold shortly after Super Eagles’ World Cup
qualifier against Ethiopia in Calabar this weekend.