BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
Former Nigeria National team player and Flying Eagles Captain, Andrew Uwe has expressed gratitude for the opportunities the nation offered him to excel in football as a youth player, but regretted that same country is offering less to current talented Youths to excel.
The ex-Flying Eagles Captain disclosed this during a chat at the ongoing Gara Gombe Athletics Championship, in Gombe State where he heaped praises on Nigeria’s previous sports administrators for a good job for ensuring that a player like him from a poor background had opportunities to rise to captain Nigeria’s Flying Eagles and moved up to the senior national team the Super Eagles, adding that the opportunity he enjoyed in past is rare this time around.
“As a player from a poor background, I had bright opportunities, everything was provided both in the National Team and at Club level in Leventis where I once played, from dutiful referees, salaries, kits all were available to players in our days.
Coaches were hired on merit, players picked or selected based on national interest and purely on professionalism, which is absent in our system today.”
The Delta State born player informed that he brought good news to talented Youth football players in Nigeria.
“I want to give back to society by sharing my experience, zeal and provide opportunities for them to excel the way I had it in the past.”
On why Andrew Uwe is in Gombe to scout for football talents alongside another German based coach Henry Ambrose, “I came here with coach Ambrose to assist young football players in Gombe by watching the ongoing Principal Cup competition and look out for talents to assist grow in their career.
“We are also here to change the narratives that Nigerian youth players can’t play abroad except they start from the national teams.
Coach Ambrose and I will be here be in Gombe for four days trying to assist these players play professional football abroad with the understanding of the organiser of the Principal Cup competition Inter-secondary Schools Athletics Championships Hon. Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe who I have known for a long time”.
Coach Henry Ambrose also an ex-football player corroborated Coach Uwe’s mission in Gombe, insisting that both of them share the same vision about Nigerian football and ways to bring back discipline in all sectors which he said is lacking in the current system.
They are UEFA and German licenced coaches and can coach any team both senior and junior categories.they well received in Gombe as the crowd hailed their entry on Tuesday in the city of Savannah
