No national team without grassroots development, says Ogunjobi

Taiwo Ogunjobi, a former Secretary-General of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said on Monday that the success of National Teams is hinged on grassroots development.

Ogunjobi made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

“I believe every concerned football enthusiast is beginning to see that the grassroots remain the only credible source that can produce long-serving quality players.

“We keep complaining about our national teams when they fail to perform well but the truth is there is no national team without a grassroots development programme.

“In Osun, for instance, we are concerned about the grassroots and it is beginning to yield the anticipated results.

“We shouldn’t be in a hurry for results, it’s going to take a while but trust me, it’s going to be worth it at the end of the day,’’ the former NFA scribe said.

He explained that there should be a synergy between grassroots development scouts and the NFF, for a smooth transition.

“Those in charge of these children have to cooperate and join forces with the NFF, in order to pinpoint players that are of age to join the national teams.

“By so doing, it will be easy to monitor their progress and give them support when needed,’’ he added.

The national football teams are in two categories, the men and the women.

In the Men’s category are the Super Eagles, the Flying Eagles (the Under-20) and the Golden Eaglets (the Under-17), and the Dream Team (the Under-23), which usually represents the country at the Olympic Games.

The Women’s category is made up of the Super Falcons, the Falconets (U-20) and the Flamingoes (U-17).