On Thursday, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State Mr. Udom Emmanuel met with officials of Portuguese club FC Porto at the government house in Uyo.
The representatives of FC Porto were the Head of FC Porto International Mr. Pedro Albuquerque, Tiago Calisto, CEO TGC Consulting, Pedro Moreira, Carlos Silva and Ojo Paul Omamomo who organized the meeting.
According to our source at the Government House, the state government is set to partner with the Portuguese based football club FC Porto to establish a state of the art football academy in the state.
During the visit by the club representative of FC Porto and officials of TGC Sports Management, a two day screening exercise was held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium to enable the scouting of players. Over 8 players were selected during the screening exercise at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium. In attendance were top notch clubs in the state FC One Rocket, Blessed Stars Football Academy, Port Harcourt City FC and a few others.
The meeting which was held late night on Thursday at the Government House, Uyo and in attendance alongside the Governor of Akwa Ibom State Mr Udom Emmanuel were Commissioner for Youth And Sports , Mr Monday Uko ; Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Udoh ; Commissioner for Works, Mr Ephraim Inyang ; House Member for Onna State Constituency, Hon. Nse Essien and Deputy Director Divine Mandate Organisation, Elder Joe Udobia.
According to Pedro Albuquerque, Akwa Ibom is the right place for the FC Porto Academy in Nigeria, “With the level of interest and dedication in sports from youths in this state, it is all that is required. I believe with support from the Government we can do a lot”.
Mr Udom Emmanuel during the meeting disclosed that the state government is ready to work out modalities for the establishment of the Portuguese club FC Porto.
If all goes as planned, it is expected to be the first international sports academy in Akwa Ibom and the Third International Football Academy in Nigeria after Barcelona Academy in Lagos and Real Madrid Football Academy in Rivers State.
