NAN-S-1
Scout
By Olayinka Owolewa
Abuja, Nov. 19, 2016 (NAN) An initiative to search for aspiring U-18 football players at the grassroots has been launched by the Change the Game Projects (CTGP), an international NGO based in Nigeria.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the resolve to embark on scouting followed a stakeholders meeting in Abuja on Friday.
Declaring the meeting open, Dr Ademola Are, the Director of Grassroots Sports Development in the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports, said the objectives of CTGP was in line with that of the ministry.
This, he said, was why the ministry was supporting the project.
Are challenged stakeholders at the meeting to see the initiative as their pet project and ensure its success.
He urged the meeting to evolve a blueprint that would ensure a smooth takeoff and completion of the project.
Earlier, the President of CTGP, Mr Robinson Adakosa, said the NGO was saddled with the mission to discover talented youths at the grassroots.
He said the objective of the project was to breed future stars through sporting activities and productively engage them.
According to Adakosa, CTGP is collaborating with the Department of Grassroots Development in the sports ministry because it is the custodian of sports development in the country.
He added that the Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON) was involved in the project to ensure proper coordination with the support of its zonal offices.
Adakosa said the project would be executed in three phases, with the first being elimination stage to be held at the state level.
The zonal play-off, the second stage, would hold at designated centres across the six geo-political zones while the final stage would take place in Abuja.
“It is expected that YSFON officials will ensure massive participation and proper coordination across the 36 states of the federation including Abuja.
“We are expecting international scouts in Abuja for the final stage of the project.
“We are looking for U-18 youths with the hope of helping them achieve their dream of playing football at the international level.
“We will give scholarships to those who wants to combine football and education, ” Adakosa said.
Adakosa added that an all stars team would be selected for the competition and it would travel to Holland for a tournament.
NAN reports that some of the stakeholders at the meeting pledged their support for the programme.
The meeting agreed that entries for the project would be received between Dec. 1 and Jan. 31, 2017.
According to the meeting, the state elimination round will begin from March 15 to March 30, 2017, while zonal play-off is expected to commence from April 6 to April 9, 2017.
The meeting also agreed that two teams–state champion and selected team–would qualify for the zonal play-off.(NAN)
OOH/OJO
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(Edited by Mufutau Ojo)