British-born Chris Nathaniel, of Nigerian parentage, founder of NVA Sports and Entertainment agency, here shares his humble beginning as well as his unfinished business to lure wealthy Nigerians including Alhaji Aliko Dangote to launch a bid for an English Premier League team and his outfit’s partnership with the country’s third-tier football league, Nationwide League One , writes OLUWAMAYOMIKUN OREKOYA.
Chris Nathaniel has for several years run one of the world’s leading sports talent and entertainment management agencies.
Yet his dream is to lead a Nigerian consortium to success with a Premier League team.
Based in London and operating throughout Europe and the world for some of the top names in sport, Chris revealed how it all started for him and his team and the interesting things they do for their clients.
“I’ve been in the sports and entertainment business for a long time,” Nathaniel said.
“I first started with Chelsea legend John Terry, then Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand when they were both at their peak, so two top England stars.
“I also spent time looking after Wilfred Bonny (ex-Swansea who became the highest ever paid African player with his transfer to Manchester City), Steven Nzonzi (ex-Stoke City and World Cup winner with France in 2018), Brazilian midfielder Robinho and now Luis Diaz (Liverpool), and quite a few other players.
“I also looked after other talents like Usain Bolt, and former WBC Heavyweight Boxing champion Deontay Wilder, so sports and entertainment is in my blood. On the music front, I have worked with hip-hop icons like Jay Z, P Diddy, 50 Cent, and other talents, like models and actors, so quite experienced across the whole Sports and Entertainment industry.”
Nathaniel led the first ever African consortium to bid for a Premier League club Newcastle in 2008, unfortunately the bid was not accepted by then owner Mike Ashley, who eventually sold out to the Arabs.
Meanwhile, Nathaniel revealed he has unfinished business and has reached out to wealthy Nigerians including Dangote to launch another bid for a Premier league club, adding the recent valuation of clubs like Manchester United and Tottenham highlight how Premier League clubs are great takeover targets based on his knowledge of club values, structures and accessibility.
According to him, having a Nigerian own a top club will not only be profitable, but it will give Nigeria a greater global profile, enhancing the economy and encouraging tourism.
He posited that Nigeria needs an overhaul from top to bottom akin to what the English FA did after continued failures at major tournaments as the English national team is now challenging for trophies for the first time since winning the World Cup in 1966.
“We look after football players, we give them full support in coaching, mental health, support their passions, and everything you can imagine,” Nathaniel said further said about his NVA, “Our job is to make sure they have long sustainable careers, make sure the right politics are played at their different football clubs, and make sure they get the best out of themselves to become the best they can be.
“Our job is forever widening as agents, not about doing the move but a whole lot, so we are like a mini football club as an agency. Our job is to maximize every possible area for our clients.”
He continued: “The scouting system is getting better and better as we’ve been able to see what’s on the ground in Nigeria, by having key people on the ground give you information.
“ In the Premier League more and more people know that the best players are coming from Africa, so there is a lot more focus now as far as recruitment is concerned of African players.
“Nigerian players, I rate very highly, as they are powerful, strong, and skilful, and if you look at most of the leagues across Europe, they do feature lots of Nigerian players. This is because they do have that natural physicality, and that is going to increase as the years move on, we are going to get more and more Nigerian players in Europe.
“I won’t be surprised to see teams full of a squad of African players. More and more, they are dominating the football and player recruitment side of things.
“I do have some understanding with Nigerian football and I’ve spent time with club owners from the NLO (Nationwide League One) and the Chief Operating Officer Shola Ogunnowo. When they visited the UK on a few occasions, which (NVA Sports & Entertainment Group) helped facilitate.
“ I got the understanding of how football is from the grassroots up, the infrastructure, the challenges they face, and what we are trying to do, which is to create a partnership to make those challenges a bit easier.
“I’m always keen to work with exceptional talent so clubs, scouts, parents, or players can reach out to us here at NVA as we are on all social channels and a quick Google search will give you our details. We are prepared to listen and are keen to assist in nurturing talent to achieving their full potential.”
Nathaniel gave his thoughts on why talented Nigerian-born players like Bukayo Saka, and Eberechi Eze opted to play for England instead of Nigeria.
He offered: “The basic benefit is players find it easy, as it’s more organized playing for England. There are lots of stories and rumours about how disorganized things are with the national team in Nigeria, so obviously, these players pick up on these rumours.
“Sometimes they’re false or over-fabricated, but a player hears that, and he says, to himself, ‘I’ve got to be the best I can be, I don’t want those distractions, you know what I don’t want to go through that.’
“Secondly, they feel they get more profile for playing for the English national team and that’s why we need to change that narrative to assist Nigerian football moving forward – this is a challenge, but I believe it is doable.
“We also have to accept the players are UK born so they may decide that’s their home and therefore want to represent the country of their birth.”
Nathaniel equally shares his thoughts on why Nigerian players despite their talents don’t command the right transfer fees, and why Napoli striker Victor Osimhen can break the barrier.
He explained: “Managing players is tough as you have to put the hours in; it’s so much like your whole life goes into it, trying to look after their careers. Sometimes it’s a thankless task, they don’t appreciate the work you put in, but some do and you are only judged as good as the player you represent, so it’s a tough business as some unscrupulous agents want to take your player – we’ve encountered lies and deceit, but transparency is important and players need to be able to trust their representative.
“It’s a very tough terrain, at the outset for the players and their families, but it’s also massively satisfying if you see your player become successful, win trophies, and have a successful, sustainable life after football. Some players come from extremes of poverty and to enable them and their loved ones to live a comfortable life after the game is so rewarding. When that happens you know you’ve done your job and that is the satisfying part of it all.
“I think sometimes when these talented Nigerian and other African players come to Europe, they lose their hunger and this happens with players globally when they get big deals, and salaries, so the hunger gets lost and they no longer push themselves to get to the next level. There’s no doubt the talent is there, it’s just about having that mental discipline to keep aspiring to be the best and keep pushing yourself to the higher limits.
“Sometimes that’s down to guidance, to the individual, hopefully, Victor Osimhen can be someone that changes that narrative, a lot of Nigerian players will aspire to be big as him or even bigger.
“It’s about the mind-set because they can only play for a short number of years, compared to their lifespan, so focussing on getting the maximum out of that short period and putting all distractions to one side and seeing the bigger picture is so important.
“At NVA we are all about that bigger picture – we want all our players to grow to be the best they can be,” he noted.
Commenting on Nigeria’s level of football, Nathaniel spotted areas that need urgent attention and how grassroots football can meet up with the new trends.
Chris said: “Everyone has to be on the same page for starters, that is having a collective plan. It’s long overdue, because Nigerian football has underperformed on the international stage.
“When you look at the Nigerian team from 1994, which almost got to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, how has the nation declined since then?
“It is clear to many people, that there is no planning, no shared focus and if you don’t plan, you are going to have failure. They need to have a rethink, this should be the goal for the next five years for Nigerian football to achieve XYZ, get all the key stakeholders together and put a clear accountable plan in place, and make that happen and if they fail a new team are put in place it’s a results business and that needs to be implemented at the highest level of Nigerian football no more jobs for the boys.
“Otherwise, they are going to be having the same results and continued failure. Nigerian players have enormous potential, but very little is being realized. So things have to change now – today not tomorrow not next year, not in five years!!
“Presently, I don’t think that there are enough structures in some of the football academies and clubs. The funding, as it’s really important, means any player that comes out of Nigeria, should get good deals, so that a sizeable amount of money goes back to the academy structure.
“They can then build from the grassroots and make it better. I think there are a few academies already that are doing that, like Mavlon FC, so we just need more and more deals that include the academies. That will raise the standards, which are key to developing football in Nigeria from the ground up.
“Due to my Nigerian heritage, I dearly want to help the Nigerian academies by using my global network to create partnerships with European clubs, which will involve trials, player development, exchange of coaching knowledge and structural set ups and funding.
“We all have to come together and make tomorrow brighter, we can then all cheer on this great nation when the Super Eagles shine again,” he closed.
