By Chigozie Chukwuleta
The Game Changers Football Academy is holding a week-long scouting program in Awka, Anambra state. In this interview with Newspathfinder, the Head Coach of the Amansea based Academy, Kenneth Utomi said the program is designed to give young lads a good platform to thrive in their dream profession.
Excerpts….
Q. What is the essence of the program
A. What we are doing is a scouting program. We are trying to beef up our squad because it is a traveling team and so we had to do open trials for all players all around. We have been on air for over a week now, sensitizing people and letting them know what’s happening. We are here to pick the best of the best. We don’t care where they are coming from or what they do, we are just interested in good talents. After picking them we will need to groom them and take them to our camp where we lodge all our players then we take it up from there.
Q. What is the dream of game changers FC?
A. Our dream is to make sure that we give young lads the platform of achieving their goals in football that is pushing them out of the country. We do not believe in keeping them.
Like I said before they are not permitted to stay here for more than a year that is why we go for the best. As we speak right now we have a scout that flew in for this program. By the grace of God he’ll pick some players and we’re still going to keep picking and grooming. We just want to make sure we get the best out of these guys.
Q. For the few days you have done this are you satisfied with the quality of players that you have seen so far?
A. Yes, yesterday we did the same program and some persons were asked to go not because they were not good probably they were not up to what we wanted. We have streamlined it now, I think we have about 60+ players today unlike yesterday when we had 100+. Today again we will still streamline it until we get a particular number that we want but we just want the best out of them.
Q. You said you’re traveling, is it for a tournament?..
A. Yeah we’re going for a tournament, we also invited some scouts they’ll be coming in December from Europe just to come and check them to pick from the ones that we’ve picked already and that is just what we are after giving us that platform. Football is something that these guys want to play, football is something that we enjoy doing and we want to do it to the very best of our ability.
Q. Generally what is the target of the game changers FC?
A. Exporting footballers, playing good football, making people understand that football is something that can unite people, football is something you can learn from, it can give you a very good platform to the world. We just want to showcase them, we just want them to give their best and be among the best.
Q. Do you have an age bracket or is it open to everyone?
A. What we’re doing now is U-20. That is exactly what we’re doing now, the last one we did was U-23 but we’re doing U-20 now.
