Amokachi, Rufai, West laud Kicktoglory talent hunt
FORMER Super Eagles stars, Daniel Amokachi, Taribo West, Peter Rufai, Joseph Dosu and Friday Elaho jave praised the organiser of the Kickto
Glory talent hunt for giving Nigerian children the opportunity to begin their quest for stardom in football.
The Kicktoglory talent hunt was held at the Nitel Sports Ground Oshodi, Lagos from August 3 to 6.
The event, which was geared towards discovering talented players, was also watched by other prominent former footballers, including Yisa Shofoluwe, Mba Agbai, Festus Odini and Ndubuisi Ndah.
The event drew 20 football clubs from different parts of Nigeria, including Premier League side, MFM FC Lagos, and their NNL counterparts, Ikorodu United FC of Lagos. From Ghana came Young Stars FC, which battled with such renowned grassroots teams as Collins Edwin FC, Box 2 Box FC, Dosu Joseph FC and Dominion Hotspur FC at the event.
There were also scouts, agents and football club officials from France, Spain, Italy and Belgium in attendance, including Raffaele Martina from Barcelona, Spain.
Chairman of FC Ifeanyi Ubah, Prince Chukwuma Ubah, and FIFA Licensed Agent, Ikechukwu Maduka, as well as researcher and industrialist, Amos Obiefuna, who flew in from the United States of America, were also in attendance.
Speaking at the end of the event, former Super Eagles striker, Daniel Amokachi gave kudos to the organisers of the talent hunt, and called on affiliates to borrow a leaf from Kick To Glory.
“What I have seen these few days is simply amazing. The players on display have been outstanding. They’re young. They’re hungry. They’re daring. They’re aggressive; the best crop of players I’ve seen in any talent hunt in this part of the globe. If only other organizations in the business of discovery of talents could emulate Kick To Glory, I’m sure out football will witness a glorious turn-round.’’
In his reaction, West said the talent hunt has once again shown that Nigeria has thousands of untapped talents.
He said, “That this country has massive collection of talented players has never been in doubt, but the development aspect has always been the stumbling block. With what I’ve seen so far, Kick To Glory has bridged the gap. Now, we can beat our chests and say that the good old days of Nigeria football has returned for good.” Speaking at the end of the event, Kick to Glory’s CEO, Friday Kujah said, “I am overwhelmed by the turn-out of clubs, scouts and agents who were part of this event.