Nigeria needs to rebuild its football development system from schools and communities if the country wants to produce enough players for its national teams, sports administrator Coach Ebere Amaraizu has said.
Amaraizu said Nigeria had made progress in sports but had not yet reached the level its football talent should have taken it to.
He said one major problem was the loss of a strong system for identifying and developing young players.
According to him, Nigeria once had a clearer pathway in which players moved from school sports to youth teams and then to the senior national team.
He said that system had weakened, leaving national team coaches more dependent on players developed outside the country.
“What happens to our local players?” Amaraizu asked, saying locally developed players could bring strong commitment to the national team.
He called for stronger sports programmes in schools and communities, with trained and certified people responsible for identifying young talent.
Amaraizu said this would create a sustainable system where young players could move from one level to another instead of leaving gaps in the national teams.
He also said the administration of football should involve professionals who understand the sport and its development.
The coach called for local coaches to receive more training and for football stakeholders to work together on a clear development plan.
He said a stakeholder meeting on football development could bring together relevant people to produce a working document for rebuilding Nigerian football.
Amaraizu also pointed to wider sports reforms as a sign of progress, saying the new approach could cover development from the grassroots to state and federal levels.
He said Nigeria also needed more functional stadiums that could host major international competitions.
He believes stronger investment by government, businesses and other organisations could help sports become a tool for solving social and economic problems.
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