After many days of brainstorming and planning. The biggest Scouting Program in the South East came to a deserving crescendo at the hallowed grounds of the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus Stadium on Saturday 31st of July 2021.
For two good days of the Scouting/camping exercise, over 1000 boys from different parts of the nation took turns in trying to not only impress the unbiased officials but making personal ways for themselves in their chosen careers. The event saw the good, fun, and serious ones. The skill sets witnessed were top-notched as you could mistake the event as one of the Academy grounds of a top European club.
Before the program started, the coordinator of the event, Barrister Amobi Ezeaku with his team of reliable and responsible officials were in a series of meetings with the convener of the Scouting Program, Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo to make sure that everything that will be needed for the program was provided. Knowing Barrister Amobi, who has this penchant for perfection as he will always say, “anything worth doing is worth doing well”, you won’t be surprised at the level of readiness the parents and the boys encountered in getting to the ground of the event. Such was the effort put in to make this program one of the most trending discussions among Nigerian sports enthusiasts for the right reasons.
For many years, football lovers in the South Eastern part of Nigerian have clamored for a Scouting Program they can relate with. Many times, young footballers are swindled of their hard-earned or parents’ money in the name of scouting programs that are non-existent or at best a charade. And when the organizers of the Kenneth Omeruo U-15 and U-17 Scouting Program announced that participation in this event is free, it became relatable and realistic for many young footballers. Their joy knew no bounds in this trailblazing development made possible by Leganes of Spain defender Kenneth Omeruo.
Over the two days, these boys showed class, vigor, desire, commitment, hunger, and passion to excel not only at the Scouting exercise but at the highest level. Factors that made it even difficult to separate successful and unsuccessful candidates even for the utmost unbiased official. Such was the level of the program. Good goalkeepers were discovered, excellent and modern-day defenders marked attendance, best of the best in the midfield department were present and attackers with the attributes of the modern game were discovered as well. By the time the organizers made up their minds for the final successful 25 that will join up the Kenneth Omeruo Academy in Abuja, every means of choosing authentically were exhausted.
As the curtain falls on this epoch-making event in the South East. The lovers of the game, football stakeholders, and young budding footballers are calling on Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo not to make this a one-time event. As the Igbo people will say “E to dike na nke omere, o me kwa ozo” meaning “if you praise a brave warrior for a good deed, he will do another one”. The boys didn’t want the event to end and promised to come around again when such a Trailblazing opportunity/platform comes around in the East. Such was the beauty and magnificence of the very first Kenneth Omeruo U-15 and U-17 Scouting Program in the South East.
