Startling permutations have emerged that the Golden Eaglets’ poor run at this year’s West African Football Union (WAFU)-B U17 Championship will affect Nigeria’s market value and reduce transfer opportunities for young players, Sports247 reports.
This verdict was served by the secretary-general of the Nigerian Grassroots Football Federation (NGFF), Pastor Oscar Ezinwa Emmanuel (aka TM), who further pointed out that the Eaglets’ poor show in Ouagadougou will also affect Nigeria’s grassroots players and some in the league.
‘TM Oscar’ recalled how winning the FIFA U17 World Cup in 1993 helped Nwankwo Kanu explode onto football’s global scene, as was also the case for Kelechi Iheanacho in 2013 and Victor Osimhen in 2015, but no new revelation has emerged since the Eaglets’ slump began in 2019.
“Each time we get to the U17 World Cup,” said Ezinwa, who is also the founder of Pison Divine Royals Sports Promotions, “it helps our players get exposure for transfers to overseas clubs.
“Agents and scouts will look at them and many good opportunities will come their way. However, each time the Eaglets collapse, as it has happened now, no agent will look at Nigeria’s side.
“They will go to Ghana or Senegal and other countries with strong youth football pedigree. That’s what is going to happen this year and Nigeria’s football market will drop further.”
The articulate youth football promoter, who has also been director of Annual National Grassroots Sports Awards (ANGSA) and administrative manager of British Council’s Comnunity Action Through Sports (CATS) project, also noted other ripple effects of the Eaglets’ latest failure.
“The sad news for grassroots players is that, once the Golden Eaglets are not doing well, there is no hope for up and coming ones. Once the Eaglets fail like this, interest from European clubs in Nigeria’s young players will not be there.
“It affects the players and the coaches, because they will lose opportunities for expansion. It affects young players at the grassroots and those in the local league as well.
“It also means that the football academies scattered all over the place in this country and many coaches attending courses are producing nothing,” the technical adviser of Pison Divine Royals Football Academy stressed.
He concluded with a breakdown of economic and financial implications of the Eaglets’ inability to qualify for the African championship and FIFA U-17 World Cup,u especially in terms of lost opportunities to seal lucrative transfers with European clubs.
“Each time the Eaglets lose, it affects the market value of all young Nigerian players. Once the Eaglets win, the whole transfer market will focus on Nigerian players.
“Once the Eaglets keep on winning, the transfer of our players to Europe becomes easy. Our youth players’ market becomes very vibrant once the Eaglets are winning regularly.
“On the other hand, now that the team has lost and they will not be at the U17 World Cup, the next generation of Ngerian players – from under-20 level upwards – will be missing and future results will be difficult,” TM Oscar asserted.
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