The President of FC Ebedei, Churchill Oliseh, has reaffirmed the club’s commitment to consistently developing high-quality players from a specific age range in Nigeria.
Oliseh, a lawyer, player’s agent, and astute football businessman, made this statement during an exclusive interview in Jalingo, the capital city of Taraba State, Northeast Nigeria.
FC Ebedei, known for nurturing top Nigerian talents, has competed in the National League uninterrupted for 26 years.
As a knowledgeable businessman in the football market, Churchill Oliseh emphasized that the club’s focus is not primarily on game results or league standings but on nurturing the highest number of players from every football team in Nigeria.
According to him, he is more focused on facilitating player transfers abroad than on winning trophies and accolades.
Oliseh pointed out that FC Ebedei had consistently produced star players since 1995, including renowned names like Obafemi Martins, Ayo Makinwa, Ayinde Lawal, Yakubu Akilu, Izunna Uzochukwu, Adesina Lawal, and Frank Onyeka, among others.
When asked if he would accept a partnership with the Nigerian government to revitalize the football industry, Oliseh expressed willingness, stating that he is already contributing to the nation’s football development.
He stressed that producing a top-tier football player requires a minimum of ten years of determination and a structured program by a nation.
Oliseh believes that the Football Association alone cannot address Nigeria’s football challenges, emphasizing the need to involve industry experts with technological expertise.
“As it is now, so even if you want to solve the problems of our football from the football association perspective, of course, you are forty to fifty years behind, the situation of our football now is gone past what anybody, any organization or any regulatory body can solve,” Oliseh emphasized.
Furthermore, Churchill Oliseh noted that Nigeria is yet to realize what sports could offer the nation and what it entails, adding that at the moment sports are undersized in the country, which he attributed to incompetence.
“The gains of sports have not been explored by us in Nigeria and that is what accounts for what we have today. For the developed world, sports is considered equivalent to armed forces,” he added.
Oliseh also highlighted that Nigeria has not fully recognized the potential and benefits of sports, attributing this to incompetence.
He emphasized the need for Nigeria to learn from football-dominant European countries like France, the Netherlands, England, and Spain to achieve the desired results.
During his visit to Taraba State, Oliseh aimed to explore and tap into the region’s football talents, acknowledging that it would require time and resources but believing it would be worthwhile.
Notably, FC Ebedei, under Churchill Oliseh’s leadership, produced three players who represented Nigeria in the 2023 AFCON held in Côte D’Ivoire.
Report By Sani Sulaiman
