As part of activities to give back to the society, Star Life football club, Oleh, Isoko South local government area of Delta state, has concluded plans to establish a football academy.
In a chat with Blueprint Saturday in Oleh, the President of the club, Elder Sam Agbagbatu, said the aim was to groom football stars for the future and also empower young football talents in Isoko to live their dream.
According to Agbagbatu, the ex-players are trying to rejuvenate the club to the level where it can once more take its pride of place in the State.
StarLife football club which was formed as an U-16 football in Oleh, Delta State, later blossomed into a formidable football club that rubbed shoulders with the defunct Delta Steel Club Aladja, NNPC FC Warri, and the famous Ufuoma Babes Warri, amongst several clubs.
Agbagbatu, who is currently the Director of Sports at Delta State University of Science and Technology, Ozoro, Delta State, said Star Life hopes to build their careers as professional footballers from the academy.
He said: “We have lined up several programmes for 2023. Plans are in top gear to establish a football academy. A football competition will be organized at the primary school level to select players that will be starting the U-12 team of Star Life FC.
“Thereafter, the team will move on to recruit from JSS 1-3, players in the age bracket of 12-14 years. From there, we will groom them to a level where they can play professional football.
“We are going to start by starting from the primary school based on the fact that some players on the ground belong to some clubs and we don’t want those kinds of players whose coaches would be making outrageous demands. We want a situation where we will get new players from scratch and groom them.
“We are also planning to link up with partners who can help us to run the club professionally, and also project players overseas to ply their trade.”
The club President commended former players of the club for their commitment in ensuring that the club’s name does not go into extinction.
“Thank God for members who have vowed that the name of the club will not go into extinction; and they have been supporting the club even some of our patrons who stood by us during our playing days.
“Kudos to every member, including the ones that traveled long distances to be part of the 2022 AGM, with God and the strong support of members, the projects will come to fruition,” he added.
