Co-founder of The Creative Championship (TCC), Olajide Akinyelu, says 104 players have progressed to professional football leagues around the world through the private competition since its establishment.
Akinyelu, who is also the founder and president of Gbagada FC, disclosed this while explaining the motivation behind the creation of TCC and its contribution to grassroots football development in Nigeria.
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According to him, the championship was established after clubs noticed that their players were not getting enough competitive matches to aid their development.
He explained that the idea was to create an additional platform where young footballers could regularly compete and attract the attention of scouts, agents and sporting directors.
Akinyelu said the results have gone beyond the initial objective, with 104 players progressing to professional leagues after six seasons of the competition.
He noted that TCC players have gone on to play in different parts of Africa, as well as countries in South America, North America and Asia.
The competition, according to Akinyelu, is not intended to replace Nigeria’s existing football league structure but to complement it by providing additional competitive matches for players.
He explained that clubs participating in the Nigeria National League (NNL), for example, can use TCC matches to increase the number of competitive games their players receive during a season.
Akinyelu also highlighted the championship’s growing use of technology, including the introduction of a video review system to assist referees with difficult decisions during matches.
He said the system is designed to help officials make better decisions while reducing the impact of incorrect calls on matches.
However, he acknowledged that limited camera coverage remains an area the competition needs to improve, with plans to increase the number of cameras used during games in the future.
Akinyelu said the long-term objective is to make TCC more data-driven by providing technical and physical information about players, allowing scouts and clubs to assess performances more effectively.
He added that the championship still has more work to do despite the progress recorded since its creation.
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