A renowned scout, Cem Sagar has strongly opined that Nigeria’s biggest obstacle in the development of football is an absence of enough stadiums across the country, sports247.ng reports.
Cem Sagar, who represents Diamond Sports Management, stated as much after the final of Lagos Supremacy Cup 2024 at Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan.
He was among the motley of football scouts and agents who gathered for this year’s edition of the six-year-old talent hunt competition, which ended on Saturday amidst pomp and pageantry.
While some observers were critical of a few hitches that occurred during the four-day ‘scouting competition’ at The Waterfront, Sagar told sports247.ng that he did not see any weakness to complain about.
Rather than expose any weakness he might have noticed during this year’s competition, the soft-spoken scout posited that the 2024 Lagos Supremacy Cup turned out to be the best in the competition’s history.
Sagar retorted, “I don’t think there has been any weakness in this competition.
“We are used to the quality that they have been introducing every year.
“We’ve been doing this programme for the last five, six years; while Jagaban Cup has been going on for three years.”
He stressed that the success of Supremacy Cup has to be judged according to the number of talents discovered during each edition, which he says turned out to be higher this year.
“It has been really successful with the number of players competing and those moving.
“From this one, I think there will be chances of many more players that will be moving,” Sagar enthused.
He then turned his focus on what he believes is the major obstacle facing football development in Nigeria.
“I think the biggest problem in Nigeria is infrastructure. We don’t have a lot of good stadiums.
“We need a lot of good training grounds, when compared to the country’s big population.
“Obviously, having a big population, and the way Nigerian people love football, means we’re always going to produce players.
“But, I don’t think we are getting the maximum ability that we have, because of the absence of enough infrastructure.
“So, I think we need to start investing into more training grounds, more stadiums and more competitions like this.
“Once that happens, the Nigerian national team will benefit a lot from it as well,” Sagar forwarded.
The erudite scout then offered his verdict about Supremacy Cup 2024 and, while stressing that he would not physically take anything away from the competition, he reckoned that it has been a very rewarding experience for him.
“I don’t think I will take anything away from this competition, like a medal or so.
“All I can say is that it has been an enjoyable programme, with a large number of scouts that were in Nigeria for the first time.
“Obviously, they were impressed with the quality; which makes me happy and themselves as well.
“I wouldn’t take anything away, but now I’ll start working and start moving some players.
“That will be our success story, because, that’s why we came here,” Sagar steessed with glee.
However, while acknowledging that Nigeria needs more of such competitions, in order to boost the discovery of hidden talents, he posited that staging Supremacy Cup once a year makes it a very competitive attraction everyone looks forward to.
“A lot of people want this programme to happen more, but I think the enjoyment of it coming once a year attracts more teams and more passion.
“Because everyone wants to win Supremacy Cup, it is becoming a big programme in Lagos.
“Its impact is also being felt in other parts of Nigeria, and I think soon the whole of Africa will hear about the competition as well,” Sagar predicted.
