A Sweden-based football consultant and UEFA B-licence coach, Martins Moses Egbuka has given words of encouragement to grassroots promoters and youngsters who aim to be great in the game.
Egbuka, who is also the chief executive officer of M-Sports Limited and Nigeria ambassador of Addbrand Promotions, said he often uses his personal experience while growing up to motivate kids of today.
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He added in a chat with Sports247: “I always see myself in kids when I watch them play on local pitches or in the streets. I tell them, ‘You can be whoever you want to be.
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“However, there are some factors that have to be considered … the basic of which are be good and be nice. Stay focused and train hard.”
While acknowledging that Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has a key role to play in the development of talent hunt ventures and activities, Egbuka stressed that individuals should also play their own part.
The product of British Council’s former youth development project, Community Action Through Sport (CATS) added: “I try and urge my colleagues based in Europe and some who are still at home to do what I am doing. Get partners in Europe to support you in organising youth football competitions.
“That’s what I have been able to do through the help of Addbrand. We have staged three editions of the competition and Portugal legend, Nani has endorsed us.
“He may be our special guest at the next edition of the competition. That would be a big plus for us as organisers and a big source of motivation for the players.”
He concluded with a heartwarming message generally to former players, youth developers, corporate bodies, politicians, philanthropists and celebrities to join hands in uplifting grassroots football in Nigeria.
“Let’s all help the son of nobody to become somebody who can later also touch the life of someone else. It’s just a matter of looking closer at what we can do with football and plan how to do it.
“Football must be developed through a well-planned process. You cannot get trees if you don’t have roots. So, we all have various roles to play.
“Let’s take football back to schools, back to the community, back to our streets and see how we can build it up from raw levels to the top.
“Once we all do that, we will surely get many stars of the future that will make us all happy when their time later comes,” Egbuka philosophised.
