The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, believes that the local content of Nigerian football needs to improve if the country wants to compete favourably at the global stage.
This comes as the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) are currently looking to disengage the services of German coach Gernot Rohr after a mixed World Cup qualifying campaign where the Super Eagles, though reaching the play-offs, struggled against CAR, Cape Verde and Liberia.
“We have to do more for the local ecosystem of our game,” Dare said yesterday in Lagos. “We have to be deliberate with talent discovery, nurturing of the talents discovered and managing them to get to the top of the ladder in their careers and stay there till they retire.
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“We have countless examples of how we got this system working in the past. We must do it again. There must be consistent focus on the grassroots, school sports, and provision of facilities, equipment and training gears. Competitions organized will also toughen and sharpen the talents,” he added.
“Clearly we have enough talents here, we just need to put in the hard work to discover them.
“Let our former football stars and sports icons who have made Nigeria proud and who understand the DNA of Nigerian football be given the opportunity to help build a team. From the history of Nigeria’s performance at the AFCON, we have seen the impactful roles of indigenous handlers and former stars.”
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