Edema Fuludu, a member of Nigeria’s 1994 Nations Cup winning team, on Tuesday said there won’t be any visible achievement at the senior level without deliberate efforts to groom talents at the grassroots.
Fuludu said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos against the backdrop of abysmal performances by the senior national teams.
“Any country that is serious about the success of football and any other sport should pay attention to the grassroots, we need to put in place the right mechanism.
“I strongly believe that if we are deliberate, we will have a solid structure that will stand the test of time, look around you, the likes of Europe see football as a business.
“In sane climes, a holistic approach is taken to ensure uniformity around the country, so it doesn’t matter where you are in the country as long as you have talent, the system will locate you,’’ he said.
He urged clubs in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) to make conscious efforts towards developing its feeder teams.
“Clubs in developed countries have feeder teams, great footballers of all time are being discovered through this means, they train talents and groom them.
“Here do we have such? What every club is looking for are finished products, they don’t want to go through the process, and we need results.
“We are not ready to put in work, then we can get the much desired result, countries that are thriving in football business don’t leave any stone unturned.
“It’s a pyramid chain, take care of the grassroots and the result will be tremendous,’’ the former Julius Berger FC of Lagos player said. (NAN)