The Anambra State Sports Development Commission (ANSDC), weekend, urged the German professional sports club, Bayern Munich, to consider establishing an academy in the state to service the whole African continent.
The Chairman of the commission, Mr Tony Oli, who made the call at a press conference heralding the 2022 Bayern Munich Youth Soccer Championship holding at Awka City Stadium, assured that the state would provide the land and other facilities to the specifications of Bayern, including the enabling environment for the academy to progress.
Oli, who argued that sports academy would help to groom and showcase talented Nigerians and other African nationals to the world of soccer, explained that the call was in line with the vision of Governor Charles Soludo’s administration to revolutionalise sports.
He said the establishment of the academy was also necessary because there was no existing Bayern Munich sports academy in Africa despite the contributions of Africans especially the indigenes of Anambra in sports development worldwide.
Responding, Mr Victor Obinna Edeh, the FC Bayern Youth Cup Nigeria Tournament Director, said the German Bundesliga side had Africa in mind in all its activities, hence introdcution of Youth Soccer Championship since 2018, and would at an appropriate time, consider bringing an academy to Africa as it did to other continents.
On the ongoing two-day youth soccer championship holding at Awka, Mr Edeh said the programme which had brought FC Bayern legend, Coach Hans Pflugler, and Christopher Loch was organised by Aspire Foundation, Voe Foundation and Anambra State Sports Development Commission, adding that at the end of the tournament, about 10 players would be selected to form part of 100 players that will represent Africa at the 2022 Bayern Munich Youth Cup Tournament in Berlin, Germany by October 2022.
Edeh, who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Voe Foundation, further explained that two of the teams participating at the tournament were from Anambra, the host state, while eight others were from Lagos, Jos, Kano, Abuja and Enugu states in order to ensure that best brains were selected from across Nigerians irrespective of ethnic or religious inclinations.
Earlier, the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Aspire Foundation, Dr Emeka Okeke, represented by the foundation’s Director of Programme Design and Implementation, Mr Tobechi Onwubuche, disclosed that the sporting event was among the many projects including “My Anambra Football”, he embarked upon with a view to produce more football champions from among talented Anambrarians.
