The Jagaban Cup football scouting competition held recently in Lagos, have provided opportunities to 17 talented young players discovered at the just concluded tournament to storm Europe and America for football trials and a step towards becoming professional footballers.
The scouting tournament that featured 8 teams in Lagos, was witnessed by four top football scouts at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena.
After a gruelling four-day of intense activities, anxieties and expectations, over 150 players were asked to showcase their talents as the foreign scouts carefully watched.
Those who made the cut are Emmanuel Stephen (Mavlon), Gabriel Chidi (Mavlon), Ochedikwu Caleb (Mavlon), Adelami Shola (Ikorodu City), Onyema Emmanuel (Ikorodu City) and Waliu Ojetoye (Ikorodu City).
Also selected are Seun Lawal (36 Lion), Enyiazu Ebuka (36 Lion), Kehinde Ibrahim (36 Lion), Gift Apama (The Charlesann), Emmanuel Chukwu (The Charlesann), Agbede Hassan (Dino SC), Ajani Adegbola (Smart City) and Broad City’s Bakare Ayomide.
The U16 trio of Egbedokun Samson (Mavlon), Cisse Mamady (36 Lion) and Alex John (36 Lion) would be sent abroad for youth development programmes.
The selected players are expected to showcase their talents to clubs in Belgium, Czech Republic, Latvia, Russia, Bulgaria, Poland, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Venezuela. Visa processing and other documents have started immediately.
Speaking after revealing the selected players to the media, veteran journalist and Chairman, Organizing Commitee of Jagaban Cup, Mr Wale Joseph, described the event as one of the best organized grassroots football scouting tournaments in Nigeria in recent times. He further applauded the professionalism and transparency of the scouts.
He went on to thank the Lagos State Football Association headed by Hajj Olawale Gafar Liameed, for providing grassroots teams with the opportunity to participate in the scouting tournament and of course, providing the lads with the platform to be discovered and exposed.
