Okocha laments poor state of youth football

Former Super Eagles captain, Augustine Okocha, has expressed sadness over Golden Eaglets’ inability to qualify for the semifinals of the U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), after suffering 1-2 defeat to their counterpart from Burkina Faso on Thursday.

The loss means that the most successful team in the U17 tournament will not be at the 19th edition of the biennial international men’s youth football tournament holding between November 10 and December 2, 2023.

Speaking on the Eaglets’ setback yesterday, Okocha said that the neglect of a credible youth football development programme over the years have made the country, a have force to be reckoned with in the past U-17 tournament now to be outshined by other African countries.

He added said that for a nation to grow in soccer, that much investment should be put in developing youths from the grassroots.

“It is obvious for more than a decade now the football stakeholders have failed to invest in youth football development. The national U17 team use to dominate the cadet championship even in worst situations. Nations that are serious invest more in their youths to get the best out of them as players. Some few individuals who own academies in the country are inexperienced. There is no focused structure to prepare players from the grassroots,” he said.

The former BBC African footballer of the year said that he was planning to organise a penalty shootout competition that will see the assembly of other former African football legends later in the year in Nigeria, adding that goalkeepers from the Nigeria Professional League would be used in the championship to encourage and promote them for them to keep giving there best in their career.

“I would have loved to win the African footballer