Sports
Real Madrid Football Academy Confirms Abundance Of Talents
The Real Madrid Football Academy says it has discovered football talents in abundance in Rivers State.
Speaking with newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday, Chris Green, Special Adviser to Governor Nyesom Wike on Real Madrid Football Academy, said the talents were discovered while screening candidates for admission into the academy.
He said that while 1,500 candidates were participating in the screening at the beginning, the number has been pruned by the handlers.
“We have seen abundance of talents here; of course talent is either acquired or inside of you.
“And here, we have seen those with endowed talents. They will get priority over those who may acquire talent or football skills while in the academy.
“In screening, the football exercise takes higher percentage than the academics, but above all, we want to see that the candidates to be admitted must have passed through primary school education,’’ he said.
The Special Adviser said that the Real Madrid Academy is open to all Nigerians, and that Rivers and non-Rivers indigenes had almost equal slots with the state having a slight edge over others.
Meanwhile, parents whose children and wards have been participating in the exercise have commended the Rivers State Government for the initiative.
David Apiafi, a parent from Opobo in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area of Rivers, said that he was happy with the development.
“We are happy about the development because it will give opportunity to children to showcase their hidden talents.
“It will enable them to benefit from their talents and make valuable name for the state and for their locality,’’ he said.
Another parent, Jacklloyd Thomas from Abonnema in Akuku-Toru LGA, said the academy was a good thing as it would create awareness and bring out sports talents in children.
Thomas commended Governor Wike for initiating the football academy.
He, however, faulted the kick-off of the screening which began with an aptitude test on January 18 alleging that the handlers did not follow the procedure laid down by the Ministry of Education for the aptitude test.
“Some of the boys who wrote the aptitude test are between the ages of 15 and 17 years, whereas the laid down rule was to give priority to boys of between the ages of nine years and 12 years.
“How do you get the best when the older ones compete with the required boys that are between nine and 12 years?
“You will definitely find it difficult to pick the best from them because the older ones will kick the ball better but they are above the age limit,’’ he charged.
Miss LovethMgba, a parent and politician said the initiative to catch the children young would secure their future and make them better people.
She stated that the screening was transparent and urged the organisers to ensure that no one was short-changed.
MrsOgechiAzunda, a parent said that aside the hitches recorded on day of the aptitude test, the screening had been smooth.
Azunda applauded the Rivers State government for partnering to establish the Real Madrid Football Academy as it would help the young to showcase their talents and possibly build a rewarding future.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor