Greensprings Kanu Football Camp resumes in April

Nwankwo Kanu teaching young children some basic techniques of football

Preparations are in full swing as the 9th edition of Greensprings Kanu Football Camp resumes next month. The event, which has been an annual football camp for children since 2012, was postponed indefinitely in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With its resumption this year, the football camp is scheduled to take place from Sunday, April 16 to Friday, April 21 2023 at the Lekki Campus of Greensprings School.

A statement by the Chief Strategy Officer of the school group, Mr Uche Ogbu, revealed that while the camp was suspended, two alumni of Greensprings Kanu Football Camp, Jubril Azeez and Light Eke were recruited into the Golden Eaglets squad for the West African Football Union B U-17 Championship in 2022, which the team won for Nigeria.

The two players are poised to represent Nigeria in this year’s U-17 African Cup of Nations in Algeria and FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru. Reiterating the goal of the event, Ogbu said: “Kanu Camp is designed to enable young children between the ages of 5 and 17 to learn the fundamental skills required to be professional football players. It aims to empower children through football and education. The children are trained by top coaches from Europe and the Lagos State Football Association.”

According to Ogbu, the children will be taken through so many drills, including, one-touch shooting, three-goal drills, lay-offs, turns, chest control, headers on goal, basic short passes, shuffling passes, tackling, sliding tackles, goalkeeping, and other exciting drills. Other activities include 5-aside football matches, mentoring sessions, mental stimulation, swimming, basketball, and basic networking.

He also disclosed that, as part