5th January, 2017
Former Green Eagles player Felix Owolabi on Thursday stressed the need for the players in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) to be of world class standard.
He made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday.
“Our leagues should take advantage of modern day technology and make it high standard.
“Ours is not the problem of lack of talents, it is a problem of the absence of viable structures that should engender developmental programmes,” he said.
He, however, said that it was never too late to start afresh.
“We have the manpower, talents are everywhere, this should be the focus of relevant authorities, ‘he league cannot sustain itself; there is need for structures to be put in place to achieve the desired result
“The only way the world sees us is through our league, so we will be doing a great disservice to the nation by not paying more attention to the league,” Owolabi said.
According to him, the country’s domestic league remains the only way of accessing the development of football in the country.
“Scouts will only take us serious when the quality of players improves and that is not possible unless proper structures are put in place.
Experts describe Scouts as those looking for young players for development toward greater heights in football.
The former player, Shooting Star FC of Ibadan, recalled that in his days, fans made sure they were at the stadium early in order to secure a space.
“In my days, if you get to the Liberty Stadium late, be rest assured that you’re going to watch match outside the stadium because fans took delight in watching us play.
“They would like to see the likes of Owolabi, Christian Chukwu, Segun Odegbami and the late Muda Lawal, we, the players, also gave the fans something to look forward to.
“As we speak, hardly does the common, layman know 10 clubs in our league, but asks him about the European Football League, he will tell you about transfers made in 1990.
“When you are watching a team like Barcelona, you know there are some players you want to see, but here in Nigeria, where are the players?