Shuffle Select Football Academy of Abule Egba, Lagos are flaunting their links with Brook House College of England as a major source of motivation and encouragement for their players, Sports247 reports.
The connection, which previously saw one of their players, Fawaz Omidokun gain trials at Southampton FC of England, has also been a huge source of inspiration for the team during their matches in Nigeria’s National Youth (N-) League.
The squad has now gone a step further in their hunt for glory by reaching the semi-finals of this year’s Seamoriow U15 Football Competition in Ikotun, where they have been tipped to pose a huge threat against the host’s team on Thursday.
Shuffle Select, who are in the very prestigious and crowd-pulling youth football competition for the first time, reached the semi-finals on Tuesday with a stunning 8-0 thrashing of last year’s runners-up, Bee United.
While one of their players, Olaoluwa Abiodun, emerged as man of the match with four goals in the encounter, coach of the side, Babatunde Ashifa (DAP) showered encomiums on the team’s director, Ibrahim Odeyinka (aka Shuffle) for always motivating the players and technical crew.
“I thank Shuffle for all that he is doing for the team, as he motivates the coaches and all our players very well. He also arranges trials for them abroad.
“That’s why the team has been growing rapidly since we started operating nine years ago. I am very happy with how the teams keeps on making progress every day.
“I played in the Nigerian league with Gateway of Abeokuta and Crown FC of Ogbomosho as well as for Asante Kotoko of Ghana. I am now using the experience I gained as a player to guide this team in a successful way.
“That’s why many new players always keep coming to join us at our training ground inside Ebenezer Primary School at Abule Egba,” said Coach Ashifa, who stopped playing in 2020 due to injury but is now developing talents.
His latest task is to marshal his lads for another piece of history, as the junior squad of the academy get ready to dare the might and home advantage of Seamoriow FC in Thursday’s first semi-final at Islamic Field, Ikotun, Lagos.
