The Consultant for the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Football Club Players’ Talent Hunt and Development initiative, Shogo Shodunnke has highlighted the numerous challenges being faced in the discovery and transfer processes of African players to world football market.
Speaking with sportsbash.com.ng on the sideline of the ongoing nationwide Talent Hunt Programme by Abubakar Bukola Saraki Football Club, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Phreestyle Sport called for adequate collaboration among parties in the trade to ease the challenges.
He also gave insight into the major criteria that players are expected to possess, ahead of the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of the transfer processes.
“Our dedication to football scouting (talent identification) is crucial for discovering talents capable of playing at the highest level.
“While a football player must meet many requirements in terms of tactics, technique, positioning, and quality, the highest priority is having the right mentality and readiness to face challenges on their path to greatness.
“I am aware that many factors hinder African players from advancing to the next level, all of which are artificial problems (self-made).
“Social, infrastructure, environmental, economic, and technical know-how issues are some of these artificial problems we can address, but transferring a player with a complicated history is our biggest challenge, which is particularly common among us.
“Most clubs in Europe and other parts of the world are very cautious when working with African players due to complications from their current club, previous club, grassroots club, and third parties.
“My scouting journey has taken me to many places, introduced me to different people, and opened my eyes to numerous opportunities, challenges, and various clubs with diverse perspectives on African players.
“Understanding our football market, club specifications, and talent attributes (weaknesses and strengths) has aligned our goals with European clubs and facilitated our involvement in player transfers both locally and internationally.
“I am presently on another significant scouting journey in Nigeria, working as a Consultant for one of the largest scouting projects (Players’ Talent Development Program organized by ABS FC) in Nigeria, covering the six geopolitical zones of the country.
“It is evident that Nigeria and Africa are rich in talent, but working with the right team will undoubtedly expand the transition of our players from the grassroots to the professional level.
We are done with Kaduna and Bauchi State centres, which are the North West and North East zones, and up next is Cross Rivers State.
