BY 

Austin Popo  

 

You can only take Root downward to bear fruits upwards. it is only a grass with a root that will grow. it is only a building with a solid foundation that will stand the test of time. in other words the strength of a building is determined by the dept of its foundation. I was told that the ongoing 109,000 seating capacity Ark project in cananland has a dept of an equivalent of 9 story building buried underground to carry the magnificent structure.

Similarly, our Football pyramid structure need a solid foundation to be sustainable, impactful and command the results we strive to achieve at the continental and global levels. The grassroot sits at the base of our football pyramid structure 

THE  FOOTBALL PYRAMID STRUCTURE AND ITS  FEATURES 

a) Grassroot Clubs,  Academies and states FA's (60%)
b) Football clubs & Leagues, (30%}
c) NFF & National teams (10%)

DEFINITIONS

* GRASSROOT -  means " Essential Foundation or Source" 
in other words Grassroot Football development is synanimous with the development of the essential foundation of our football, which is our Youths. 

* So when we talk about Grassroot Football development, we are also referring to Youth Football development, which is the foundation for national football development 

* WHAT IS YOUTH FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT 

1 Youth Football development in global terms and against the background of national youth policy for Nigeria ( 1983) according to Dr S.O. O Salakun, can be defined as the process of continuous improvement of the status of the game of football to the creation of such socio economic and socio political situations in the country in which the rights of the youths are advanced and their effective functioning and self actualization ensured 

2 Technically, youth football development describes, the condition of practical availability of those opportunities for all talented and interested Nigerian children and adolescents to participate effortlessly in an institutionalized program of football to acquire KNOWLEDGE and SKILLS and gain proficiency in the techniques and strategies required for success in highly competitive game situations, thus footballing will become for our Youths a tool of good life, with which they can attain social competence, economic liberty, protection against neglect, exploration and abuse 

HOW CAN WE USE YOUTH FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT TO DEVELOP OUR FOOTBALL 

Inspite of the the laudable objectives which Grassroot football can offer as outlined in the technical definition offered by Dr Salakun, the status of of the development of football for youths in Nigeria can't be said to be above the average level, and is a major trigger of the crises we continue to have in our football in Nigeria. This is because certain features of poor development still characterize the football business in Nigeria 

PROVIDING PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO YOUTH FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT

In providing practical solutions to youth football development in Nigeria, the following needs to be considered 

1 THE CONCEPT OF THE FOOTBALL PYRAMID 
2 EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE 
3 EARNINGS AND COMPETITION OPPORTUNITIES 
4 PRINCIPLES OF ACTIVE PARTICIPATION 
5 EMERGENCY COACHES AND FOOTBALL CONTRACTORS
6 NON AVAILABILITY OF PLAYGROUNDS 
7 PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION 
8 FOREIGN BASED PLAYERS 
9 MIGRATING FROM PERFORMANCE POTENTIAL TO PERFORMANCE REALIZATION 
10 LOCAL  AND STATE FA'S 
11 REGULATIONS 
12 COMPLIANCE 
13  ENFORCEMENT 
14 THE PLAYERS STATUS AND ARBITRATION COMMITTEE (PSAC)

1 Our development programs and activities occupying the larger percentage of our  football pyramid  must be institutionalized to get the desired results 

2 Our youth football development must be viewed and attended to as an educational experience, demanding the services of highly qualified personal ( teachers - physical educators and coaches) For example future professional football player must be taught not only to understand  his/her purpose as a professional footballer but also his/her purpose as a person for life 

3 Our youth football training institutions should develop sustainable programs geared towards extending effective earning and competition opportunities to as many pupils and students as possible across the nation,  through the Youth Training Scheme (YTS ) in collaboration with all relevant bodies in charge of school administration from primary to senior secondary schools which I will throw more light on later on this presentation 

4 Our educational institutions should embrace and actively demonstrate the principles of active participation that encourage striving for physical excellency and skill proficiency, and endorses the functional harmony of the spirit, mind and body 

5 The emergence of emergency coaches and teachers must be discouraged.. Some persons who have no defined means of livelihood have converted to emergency football teachers and contractors doing more harm than good in the system must be sorted out and encourage to upgrade their knowledge to cope with their assignment . providing grants and scholarships for such individuals is a major focus of the Boots for Grassroot Project Africa (BFG ) which it hopes to collaborate with the ACC to deliver 

6 There is gross inadequacy of playgrounds in most schools as well as in most residential areas in Nigeria. which is also tantamount to violation of town planing principles and laws an of the fundamental rights of the child. 

7 Government lack of interest to partner and collaborate with private bodies and NGO' s like the SKFVTC for the development of sports facilities just the same government does in other industry is also a major drawback in youth football development in the country 

8 Emotional dependency on Foreign based players which continue to constitute a stumbling block for national youth football development 

9 Our youth football development program must include a systematic and progressive method for bringing the child from performance potential to performance realization in the football game. This is the most crucial and difficult aspect of youth football development that requires high quality and competent coaches and teachers to handle. 

10. The Role of Players Agents in the selection of Our National youth teams , U15, U-17, U20 players has continue to undermine transparency and quality leading to  steady decline in terms of performance. 

TO BE CONTINUED