Some former Super Eagles players are in Benin City, the Edo State capital to encourage and provide mentorship to players of the clubs participating in the maiden NPFL Youth League Championship Finals.
At a brief unveiling ceremony at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, during the opening ceremony of the finals on Sunday, Chairman of the NPFL, Gbenga Elegbeleye, said the idea of the mentorship is to provide professional role models who would deploy their experience to nurture the young talents to stardom.
The mentors – who have been named the NPFL Youth League Ambassadors – are ex-Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough star, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, ex-Wolves midfielder Seyi Olofinjana, former Super Eagles captain, Austin Eguavoen and former Super Eagles forward, Patrick Pascal.
Elegbeleye tasked the quartet to use their experience to discover, nurture and mentor the next generation of stars at the youth league.
Eguavoen, who is Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation, commended the NPFL for the Youth League initiative and pledged on behalf of the others to adopt the young players as their personal project.
Aiyevbeni expressed delight at the quality of talents he saw in the opening day’s fixtures and declared that “some of the players we have seen on the first day have all the requirements to make it on the big stage.”
For Olofinjana, the players need professional guidance to reach their full potential.
He said, “All I can say is that there is potential in these kids. The skill and mindset are topnotch, and if they don’t put themselves under any tension, they have a good chance to play international football.”
Emeka Inyama, the Chairman of the league’s Organising Committee, lauded the ex-internationals for accepting to work with the NPFL to raise the next generation of Super Eagles players.
Rivers United defeated Remo Stars 3-1 in the opening game while Plateau United edged Katsina United 2-1 in the second game of the day. Enugu Rangers youth team, the fifth side in the championship, had an off day.