Bright Godwin has revealed the motive behind the establishment of the Dele Alampasu Football Academy in an exclusive interview with Sport247.ng as the head coach allayed that it’s project which aims at giving back to the society where the Super Eagles star grew up from.
Read Also: Lagos FA Pre-Season Tournament: Hajj Gafar Expresses Delight Over Teams Performance
Before his rise to stardom, Godwin who is a graduate of NIS with a certificate in advanced coaching recounted the shot-stopper’s growth under his tutelage and how he’s making sure he gives hope to talented grassroots players through the academy.
He shared: “Dele Alampasu started his career with me at U-15 and then I trained him and was able to make it to the top and this academy is a way to give back to society and that’s why we formed this and he’s the sole individual behind the running of the academy.”
“He is the president and I’m the coach in charge and he’s been doing well for us, the kids are happy, he kits them with boots, jerseys, balls, training equipments all on his own,” he added.
Other News: Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) Announces Finalists For 2023 AWIEF Awards
“We have U-8, U-10, U-13, U-15, U-17 categories. It’s not been an easy ride but we are grateful to God that we have been able to manage the situation presented to us on all occasions.”
“We have coaches on ground that are also working to make the job very easy but grassroots football is not easy if there’s no finances but the president has been fantastic in his contributions.”
Speaking on the future of the academy, “the long-term plan is that as they are now, they are at a developmental stage, so they will get to a point where we will expose them outside of the country.”
“We have few players that went for U-17 trial and right now, we are working on some of the players that will leave the country very soon.”
“The challenge is handling of the kids, it’s not an easy task and as a coach, you have to make sure to be very disciplined and make sure you impose discipline into them.”
“There are some parents that will come and complain but when the complain come to us, we make sure to do the needful to put the children in the right path and what’s what we have been doing.”
“When we see a player with good talent, we have to go to the parent, talk to the parent and see if they can give the child chance to play football but for parents who aren’t willing, as a coach, we have to make sure that it’s not just about releasing the player to us.”
“What matters is also other aspects of their life aside from football and follow it up. If we can make assurance to parents concerning what I have highlighted, the player will be released to us and it has worked well for us,” he explained.
“We are trying to establish a female team also but we have a few of them but they don’t come on a regular basis, just weekends but we are trying to raise the standard very soon,” he concluded.
