Former Super Eagles’ winger, Emmanuel Amuneke has come out with a down-to-earth declaration that Nigeria has lost its once vibrant culture of developing young players at the grassroots.
The 1994 African Footballer of The Year, who is now technical manager at Heartland FC of Owerri, added that he is always eager to encourage young players, but confessed that he finds it difficult doing so in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL).
Sports247.ng reports further that Amuneke, who has also coached clubs in Egypt, Sudan and Zambia as well as the Tanzanian national team, is happy with how he is currently grooming a lot of young players at Heartland.
Amuneke stated, “I am proud of them. They are trying their best in spite of the Nigerian culture, with due respect, which does not encurage young players.
“We always talk about the difficulties young players are facing, but I use myself as a good example. After I left secondary school as a student, I was given the opportunity in Julius Berger FC.
“That means I was a product of youth development, and see who I am today. Sadly, over the years, I think we have lost that culture in Nigeria.
“Nowadays, we want quick and immediate good results. They sing praises only for good results that come all the time, instead of being patient to develop the players.”
Amuneke then used his strategy at The Naze Millionaires and the role he played in unleashing Victor Osimhen at the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup to buttress his view that youth development should be an essential feature in the NPFL.
“We here are focused on developing young players. We want to give them opportunities to grow. The former African Footballer of The Year was a product of myself and Emeka Amadi in the under-17 national team. Within four, five years, he has become one of the world’s best players.
“That’s why I find it necessary that we should make a place where we can continue to encourage our young players. It’s the challenges that they go through that will make them mature fast and make them to be much better players,” Amuneke submitted.
Amuneke also assured Heartland’s fans that he and other members of the club’s technical crew will put heads together during the mid-season break, in order to come up with strategies that can help their team do better than their current 14th placed position on the NPFL table.
