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Ebenezer Bajela
Former Nigeria international, Garba Lawal, believes the influx of European academies into Nigeria will help in contributing to the development of grassroots football and discovering young talents.
Lawal’s reaction came after French giants Olympic Marseille announced that they will have their academy fully operational in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
FIFA regulations on the transfer of minors have seen many top European teams bringing their talent hunt projects to Nigeria through academies.
Spanish giants Barcelona named their football academy in Lagos FC Bescola, while their archrivals Real Madrid have theirs in Port Harourt. West Ham and Danish side FC Midtjylland are among some of the European clubs with a presence in Nigeria.
Fans took to social media to react angrily to the disappointing draw with the team’s captain Ahmed Musa apologizing for his side’s unimpressive showings.
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick has set a target of a 4-0 win for Gernot Rohr’s men in Freetown and Lawal has revealed the expectation of the fans ahead of the crucial game.
“We are expecting them to go to Sierra Leone on Tuesday and beat them even if it is 1-0 we don’t care, what matters is the three points,” Lawal told
Goal.
“They must correct those errors in their last game. They must get it right when they go to Sierra Leone by winning the game.