John Egbokhan
13 October 2008
Former Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Kashimawo Laloko has tipped Coach Samson Siasia to make a huge success of the Sia One Soccer Academy, which the latter has said would compete favourably with other world-class academies in developed nations
The Sia One Soccer Academy is to be built on a wide expanse of land in Abuja, providing youngsters with top of the range training facilities and coaching services from a crop of dynamic and technically grounded instructors, with Siasia at the helm of affairs, as he bids to generate the new generation of young soccer stars for the use of Nigeria.
Speaking weekend in Lagos, where the Sia One Soccer Academy project was made public, Laloko, who runs the Pepsi Football Academy, reputed to be one of the thriving and known soccer academies in Nigeria, said that Siasia has the track record to do well in nurturing youngsters into world super stars.
"I have been following Siasia since he was an age-grade footballer till this present period and I know from experience and records on ground that he understands what it entails to develop young players into renowned players that Nigeria can depend on for future national assignments.
"Not all coaches can be successful at the age-grade level of soccer but Siasia has shown all that he is at home with the grooming of these young ones, who interestingly are the ones who we can rely on tomorrow because we cannot continue relying on today's stars for tomorrow's assignment", added coach Laloko, who warned Siasia not to rely on government patronage to see his dream of building a world class soccer academy.
"Having been around in the business for some time, I am warning you not to rely on government to start this project because my past experiences have shown that these are people in the establishment who do not mean well for the development of good-natured projects like the one you are embarking on.
"You must also endeavour to recruit the best instructors, who would be able to teach the players the basics and modern trend of playing football. And you must also run the outfit as a businessman. Do not allow any room for sentimental attachment because this is not about people who are around you but about grooming the next crop of players who would take the world by storm soon," he added.
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