Peace Cup: Dominion Academy spots young talents for European opportunities

More than 10 young footballers have been identified for possible opportunities with clubs abroad following the inaugural Dominion Peace Cup scouting programme in Lagos, the organiser has said.

The three-day event, organised by Dominion Excellent Football Academy, brought together young players from across Nigeria for an open scouting exercise monitored by football scouts from Europe.

The academy’s founder, Ogechi Agana, said the tournament was created to provide opportunities for talented players who had not yet attracted the attention of international clubs.

Speaking at the end of the event, Mrs Agana said scouts from Turkey, the Netherlands and Germany participated in the exercise.

“This event is a kind of way for us to gather and showcase talent. We believe that everybody has an opportunity and we feel that we could create that avenue for such equal opportunity,” she said.

“We’re looking at getting at least talents that have not been discovered, trying to make sure that they have some international focus. We have some of our scouts from Turkey, from the Netherlands, and from Germany.”

Mrs Agana said more than 10 players had already been identified, with the academy planning to continue working with them to prepare them for opportunities with clubs outside Nigeria.

“We’ve been able to identify a lot of individuals, over 10 people, and the future is very, very, very positive because they’ll be moving up to international clubs, where you’ll be hearing their names very soon,” she said.

She said the academy would continue to monitor the players even after they secure opportunities abroad.

“Any club they go to, we have a way of communicating and also follow up. We visit them. Anywhere in Europe, we actually go and visit them,” she said.

Scouts assess Nigerian talents

International football scout Benjamin James said the competition provided an opportunity to identify players with the potential to pursue professional careers in Europe.

Mr James said a selected group of about 21 players had been picked for further assessment after the scouting exercise.

“I’m here to scout some good players who we might take to Europe. We came up with a selected side that we just picked about 21 players that we are going to see,” he said.

He said several players had caught the scouts’ attention, including a 16-year-old player.

“We have good players here that we’ve seen. At least we can move at least five to six,” Mr James said.

He, however, stressed that talent alone was not enough to guarantee a successful transition to European football.

“The truth is, the basics here in Nigeria, it tells on them when they arrive, and it takes the grace of God for some talented players to succeed,” he said.

According to him, selected players would continue their training at their respective clubs while visa processing and other arrangements were being completed.

Mr James described grassroots footballers as “unrefined gold” and said the tournament could also help provide young people with a productive alternative to life on the streets.

“We just want to channel this to football, to see how we can take all of the players out of the streets,” he said.

Turkish scout sees potential

Oguzhan Turk, a football scout based in Turkey, also expressed interest in the talent on display during the tournament.

Mr Turk, who was born and raised in the Netherlands and now scouts for clubs in Turkey, said several players demonstrated raw ability but would require further development.

“We saw a lot of academies now, and you see a lot of raw talent, who needs to improve, who needs to develop. So, yeah, we want to see the selected game now, so we are waiting,” he said.

He said players selected for opportunities in Turkey would need to demonstrate commitment and a willingness to improve.

“It depends on the boys, of course. They need to improve. So we’re gonna pick the best ones and we are going to give them a chance in Turkey and then they need to work hard. They need to improve themselves,” Mr Turk said.

He expressed optimism about Nigeria’s pool of young footballers.

“There is a lot of potential in Nigeria. I’m always saying this when I’m here. There’s big potential in Nigeria. You can see that. So hopefully we can pick some good ones,” he added.

Academy plans regular scouting tournament

Mrs Agana said the Peace Cup was designed as an open trial, meaning players who were not selected would still have an opportunity to continue their development at the academy.

She said the academy planned to make the competition a regular event, with another edition scheduled for November.

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“This is the first time we’re having the Peace Cup, but Dominion Excellent Academy has been going for over three years,” she said.

Beyond football, Mrs Agana said the academy planned to expand its sporting activities to basketball, swimming and tennis while retaining its faith-based approach to youth development.

“We not only teach them how to play ball, but also teach them how to become great men of God in future. We groom them spiritually,” she added.

For the players identified during the inaugural Peace Cup, the next stage will be to turn the attention generated during the tournament into sustained development and, potentially, opportunities with clubs outside Nigeria.