One thing about Digital Institute Stadium Oshodi, it's perhaps the best private pitch you can find in Nigeria today. Everyone player and coaches attested to this fact at the three days players Assessment program held in Lagos from Monday September 26 to Wednesday 28, 2016.
It was raining season and a few days before the program was a continuous heavy downpour, the grasses were well nourished; no bald grounds, no water log on the pitch, but a well mowed carpet grasses . And players came from several states: Abuja, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Rivers...to graze the program. It was a time of making new friends and networking.
Click here to Register your Interest for the Next Assessment Day
Special mention of David Nsikan Udoh's expectional leadership quality. Udoh came from Abuja but was able to coordinate the players by his own initiative. They prayed together and most of them decided to put their monies together to pay for a hotel accommodation, were they stayed, eat, drank and slept together.
Segun Olatomokun, a business Administration graduate currently in National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was arguably the best player of the Assessment program. Confident player! Good ball holding and dribbling skills, sometimes playing to the gallery. Though he played as a support striker and a right winger... Segun could easily pass as a play maker... Good passes and assists but not very good at scoring goals.
Martin Ayodele is a more purposeful kind of player... Great speed and eye on goal. It was amazing that Ayodele came as a right half back, but was converted during the course of the Assessment to a right and left winger and sometime as a striker. Ayodele scored at least a goal in every game he played.
Another skillful player Emmanuel Ugwu, tall lanky central defender and defensive midfield maestro... Good on air and ground play. Win ball easily and hide the ball well when in possession... Start counter attack so well with long (cable) passes to the striker or wingers... Emmanuel seems to read the game better than most players at the Assessment... His ball intelligence is what made him outstanding really.
Vitus Stephen is a peculiar kind of footballer... fast one-two touch player and float passes like mad... a bit feeble in a man-to-man contest and indeed, poor shooting ability from outside eighteen yards box. Vitus is quite young, 17 years old, but has shown indication that he can turn out to be a classic player if work on.
May be, I'll find a way to transfer him into a top flight youth team in Europe. I believe he has a future in the game!
There are other players that did well too. Shadrack Okpara from Kaduna, very strong right half back, very difficult to get pass him. Austin Chukwu from Edo, follow instructions so well and tries his best to play exactly the way the coach wants him to play.
Special thanks to Great Olympic Academy for making the Assessment matches very competitive. One thing going for Academy is that the boys are very fit... They train like soldiers going for a real battle. We thank the founder, Coach Salawu for obliging our request for the whole three days.
At the end, Segun Olatomokun, Martin Ayodele and Emmanuel Ugwu, received Players Management Contract from Joka Sports Management after their success in the three days Assessment.. Probably, in the coming month or so, they will be traveling to Stockholm Sweden for trials at Effborg FC.
Okeze Emmanuel and David Nsikan Udoh have been placed as alternate players. Joseph Onyima, CEO JOKA Sports Management would like to try them out again in the following weeks. Any of them can be replacement for the selected players who cannot travel for one reason or another.
Read this:GreenBall Trial Camp Wants You to Showcase Your Football Talent in Front of Scouts and Agents – Here in Lagos Nigeria
The Next Players Assessment Date
Of Course, we are still planning to Assess more players for this Swedish project. Probably in the last week of October or first week of November. Assessment fee is NGN8,000 only. If you are interested to be assessed, Click here to Register your Interest.
We will call you up only with these two designated mobile number: +234 809 877 2556 to give you further instructions. MAKE SURE YOU NOTE THE MOBILE NUMBERS!
