MTN Football Scholar

Hi folks, I believe this information may be useful to someone.


*Introducing MTN Football Scholar*

*MTN Football Scholar* which was officially launched on Monday, September 5, following a press conference with major stakeholders. This initiative will further
consolidate MTN's leadership position among the youth segment through
connecting with their passion for football and aspiration to acquire quality
education.

The MTN Football Scholar is a youth programme aimed at discovering talents
who can combine active football and education at the tertiary level within a
scholarship scheme. It is a unique platform for the discovery, training and
exposure of budding soccer talents, providing them with access to
scholarship opportunities in soccer oriented universities in the United
States as well as links to international soccer academies.

The MTN Football Scholar programme is open to students within the age
bracket of 16 and 20 and is designed to strike an equal balance between
soccer and academics. Students who make it into the scheme will progress
through a series of knock out soccer competitions and mock exams to gain
entry into the Academy, where they will undergo intensive football and
academic training for one month.

The month-long training will prepare students for SAT (Scholastic Assessment
Test) and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) examinations. Those
who succeed in crossing this stage will play a final football competition
under the watchful eyes of international soccer scouts who will select the
top winners.

The programme will kick-off with auditions in eight key cities. To
participate, interested contestants are required to send an sms costing N50
to the short code *4000*, stating their name, age and location. Online
application forms will also be available on the MTN website and at the
various auditioning venues.

Paradox of the Overaged Underage

I wrote this piece while watching the Falconets of Nigeria play against the USA team.

In spite of how interesting the match was, my mind kept wandering back to the last world cup and the dismal performance of the Green Eagles (super????).

At the senior world cup where there are no age restrictions; teams like Germany, Ghana etc came with teams with an average age ranging between 22-24. Nigeria came with a team with an average age of 27-29 years. Recent developments tend to show that it takes more than old age / experience to win or perform well in international tournaments. It also requires youthfulness and strength

At age-grade competitions, some countries are world famous for using “overage” players. These countries usually perform excellently at such competitions using “experienced players”. The irony of it is that when these players are supposed to blossom and mature with time in subsequent senior tournaments, the players become tired-legs, “expired” and no longer effective.

The irony is that these same countries bring tired-legs to tournaments with no age restrictions and perform woefully. Perhaps the football leadership of these countries have forgotten that the purpose the age group competition is to identify talents early and encourage football development. The objective of the tournament to member countries should not be primarily to win but ensure that talents are discovered and nurtured to maturity over some periods of time. While it is desirable to win under 17 and under 21 competitions, the method should not be through the use of overage players but through proper preparation and having under 13, 15 clinics and competitions to discover talents which abound in the Nation.

In 1989, the great Pele predicted that “Uncle Godwin Okpara” would become one of the best players in the world by virtue of what he displayed on the pitch. Luis Figo played in that same competition but nothing was said of him, but you and I know Figo became a shining star before he retired from active football. One commentator said regarding Mikel Obi in 2005, “this ‘boy’ plays with a charisma of an experienced and exposed player. He holds the ball and makes excellent passes”. Mikel and Taiwo eventually became 2nd and 3rd best players of the tournament behind Lionel Merci. Today, five (5) years after, Merci is world best. Our dear brothers are probably African or Nigerian best (sorry if I hurt you).

All major towns and cities should by now have a secondary school that focuses on football and athletics generally. Regular competitions should be organized between them at State and National levels under the watchful eyes of the national team coaches. I sincerely hope that a “good” coach will be hired for the national team with a 4-year term contract. Quality friendly matches should also be organized for eagles i.e. against Germany, Holland, Argentina, Spain etc as against poorly rated teams to expose the real weakness and strength of our teams.

I look forward to seeing the green eagles “super” again.

Written by Oluyemi Adeosun