African Ballers set to unleash new footballers
Nigeria has the reputation as one of the countries with the largest population of talented youths in the world. The country’s youths have shown through their exploits in music and hi-tech that given the right environment, they can rate among the best of their peers from other parts of the world.
In sports, especially football, Nigeria is said to have the largest exports of talents in the world outside Brazil and France. Some of these talented footballers are currently making waves in various European leagues, but for every known star out there in the UEFA Champions League or the Europa League, there are millions back in the country crying for opportunity to showcase their talents and earn money while playing the game.
Such opportunity is what a new outfit, African Ballers, has said it will provide for the country’s youths.
On Saturday, September 14, African Ballers will hold their maiden scouting programme in Lagos, where 40 talented youngsters will gather to display their skills to the whole world.
According to the founder of African Ballers, Gaurav Vaswani, the programme billed for the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos, is a one against one challenge, where players from ages 16 to 25 will try to outwit one another, using all the approved, known and novel tricks in the game.
How does it work? Vaswani explains: “We have selected 40 youths from local teams by scrutinising over 300 videos they submitted to our panel.
“Among these players are a few professional players, but the majority are amateur players seeking attention and the opportunity to display their talents to a large audience.
“During the event, each individual player will try to outwit his opponent in a one-on-one skill challenge using such skills as nutmeg, leg