Chairman of Abia Warriors Football Club of Umuahia, Emeka Inyama says that for Nigeria to regain its pride of place in world football, the country must go back to the grassroots to discover hidden but burden talents that abound there.
Inyama made his feelings known at the club’s secretariat when he received the victorious New Generation Football Academy of Umuahia who presented him with the golden trophy they won during the FEYSOC U-17 football competition in Enugu recently.
He recalled that players like Stephen Keshi, Henry Nwosu and Lawrence Ukaegbu among others who hit national limelight were all discovered in their youths while playing for their secondary school teams, insisting that youth competitions and inter-secondary school competitions must be brought back and encouraged at the grassroots.
According to him, New Generation Football Academy is an affiliate of Abia Warriors and has produced star players like Chisom Chikatara, Michael Olaha and Shedrack Asiegbu, among others for the club and commended the proprietor of New Generation Football Academy Mr. Uchechukwu Stephen Nwabuko for his steadfastness.
He said he was not surprised at the achievements of the academy considering its antecedents, revealing that Abia Warriors currently has a technical partnership arrangement with the academy which has been working well for both sides and supported the academy with some cash.
Earlier while presenting the trophy to the chairman, Mr. Nwabuko said his boys played a total of five matches in Enugu, scoring a total of 15 goals while conceding only one, as they successfully defended the trophy they also won last year as overall champions among the 36 teams that attended after defeating Liverpool FC of Onitsha 4-0 in the final.
He said seven of his players including Chisom Chikatara’s younger brother, Ugochukwu, were among the boys selected by some foreign scouts who besieged the competition arena in Enugu, adding that they will soon hit Lagos for the final selection before they travel abroad.
