Following the unveiling of their project, Saints Lagos Football Academy, Southampton Football Club now want to partner with Barcelona Academy to help nurture young talents in Nigeria.
The management of Saints Lagos Academy, who paid a courtesy visit to FCBescola Academy in Lekki at the weekend, said it was imperative to partner with an existing football academy in order to achieve the aim of discovering and nurturing the plethora of talents being wasted in Nigeria to international stars.
According to the Global Development Manager, Southampton Football Club, Matthew Sanger, his team wants a partnership that would establish Saint Lagos and put things in the right way.
“Our Academy and the professional club is about developing the whole player and person and we are going to partner with organisations around the world to develop not only the footballers but also ensuring the individuals are well-grounded to contribute to the world around them in positive ways,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, Chairman of Blaugrana Sports Group, Leslie Oghomienor, who welcomed the Southampton team, said it was important for groups like Southampton and Barcelona to come into Nigeria to help develop youth football in the country. He said the partnership was imperative as the two clubs would collaborate and learn from each other, adding, “There is quite a lot they can learn from Barca academy because we have been here for three years and we have the experience, which we will be able to share with them. “We are going to share information and resources definitely, so you will be seeing a lot more of this kind of collaboration in the future.
