International Director of HB Academy in Abuja, Batu Kaplan has called on the organizers of the Nationwide League One on need for more professionalism in schedules, arrangements of fixtures and welfare provisions, advocating that the league if properly structured has the potential to be one of the best in the country while producing world stars.
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Also the head of scouting for the Elite Project Group chaired by CEO Emeka Obasi, Kaplan a Turkey citizen was a present figure at the NLO 2022/2023 games at various designated centers with the sole aim of scouting for young, talented players in the state.
In one of his visits, the London based scout spoke exclusively to Sports247.ng to give his assessment of the league and make necessary recommendations on what needs to be done to make the league live up to its standard while developing youngsters for the global stage.
“We watched the whole NLO because there is abundance of talent in Lagos but so far, I think it can be more organized in a more professional way but I’m used to it. It’s so hot and I’m concerned about these boys having problems after the game. Imagine me sitting in the pavilion here and it’s so hot with shadows, how much more compared to the players on the pitch, I think this should be put into consideration when fixing dates for the matches,” he advocated.
“Then, some coaches are not tactical enough, they don’t teach the players enough, I don’t know but there are sports education programs, these players lack good tactical instructions,” a concerned Kaplan allayed as he enjoined coaches to get enough education which will help the players grow and develop their game.
“I saw some handful of potential players during the course of the games that I watched but they are not the next Osimhen, Ronaldo or something. I’m always careful about that type of rush and urge because you know this is football, you never know sometimes they can have talents and abilities but if they are not working hard enough, having good training, they can’t get there.”
Speaking further, Kaplan admitted his likeness for some players that he saw in the course of his scouting, young players with potentials for the future but he advised that they need to learn well with education which is very important as they can be good players undoubtedly.
“The main problem in African countries is that for example, if that kind of talents that is as young as this here were to be in Europe within the age range of 16-17 years old, they can easily play in the first teams of big teams but in Africa, when you see their level still in the academy, it makes me upset, I hope it will change and maybe we can find the next Osimhen but it depends on their education and growth, Nigerians always have big talents and I can see this,” Kaplan concluded.
