Eaglesite Football Academy will give young stars opportunity to excel – Agboma
Founder of Eaglesite Football Academy, Agbor Delta, State, Jude Agboma says that his decision to set up an academy in his village is to give opportunity to talented footballers to excel in their career as well as turn them to super stars.
The academy was first established in 2000 but the COVID- Pandemic prevented it’s smooth take off but Agboma believes that there’s no going back now they’re back on track, noting that he’s out to change the narratives of football academies in the country.
According to the Australian based football administrator, who have been to several FIFA World Cups, players of the academy will be exposed to the most modern techniques of football and have the opportunity of embarking on international tours while foreign scouts will be coming on regular basis to.monitor their game.
“I have been living in Australia for quite sometime now and I believe it’s the right time to come and invest in my country. With my international exposure, I have one or two things to introduce in my academy to make it different from other academies
“Right now, am in contact with some foreign clubs whom I won’t mention their names now. They’ll be sending scouts here to monitor the players and the good ones will have the opportunity to lace their boots for some of the big clubs in Europe or better still in the Nigerian Premier League and win trophies there, since not every body will play in Europe, ” he sounded confidently.
He also explained that presently, the academy boosts of 50 players positing that as an academy that’s gender positive, it’s open to both male and female players.
“Presently, we have 50 players and registration is open to boys and girls who are talented and interested in playing football. We have the junior category whose ages ranges from 8- 13 years while the senior category ranges from 13 years to 18.
Agboma who stated that the academy has fully taken off with hope that in the nearest future, they’ll register to play in some of the country’s national leagues also announced plans of sending his coaches to the National Institute For Sports ( NIS), Lagos to upgrade themselves and win National League trophies
“My plan is that very soon, the academy will participate in the country’s second tier League. We have the coaches to take them there. They are already playing in one tournament in Delta State and they’re doing very well.
“It will also interest you to know that our coach is a former national league player and our ‘Team Manager’ is also one time national league player ; he has also played in South Africa and well known in football in this country. So, I believe we have the right coaching crew to handle the academy”, he said.
Agboma who says he wants to see the academy in the next five years be one of the best academies in the country as well as gain popularity in Europe especially with their scouts to enable his players feature for the Premier League and the Super Eagles, identified getting the right people to handle academies as the major challenge affecting setting up of football academies in the country.
” Getting the right people on board is one of the major challenges facing the setting up of football academies in the country. I faced the same problem initially because people are only interested in what you’ll put on the table but am happy that I have surmounted the problem.
On why he decided to set up the academy in his village, the soft spoken Agboma explained that there are a lot of talents in the rural areas both in the primary and secondary schools and it’s important that they’re given the platform to excel as many of them might not have the opportunity to be in the urban areas.
He advised parents who want their children to acquire quality football training to come forward and register with a token at Eaglesite Football Academy, Agbor, Delta State with an assurance that they won’t regret it.
