Building a Brighter Future for Nigerian Football: The Vision and Legacy of the Stephen Keshi Football and Vocational Training Centre

And inspiring the younger generation to serve their nation through sports. These objectives are not just our goals but our commitment to the future of Nigerian sports, a future that we believe will be brighter and more promising with the establishment of the SKFVTC.

1. Serve as an integrated non-profit football village for identifying, nurturing, and developing talented football youths nationwide.
2. Expose future footballers to vocations and conventional academic curriculum to acquire essential certificates; should they encounter an injury rampant with the game, they will still live normally.
3. Create alternative career paths for our passionate and teeming sports-loving youths who love Football but cannot make it to the professional cadre.
4. Host the 2025 edition of the Stephen Keshi Male and Female Under 17 tournaments at the Obazuwa site.
5. Source for investors to build, operate and transfer.
6. Encourage donors who would build and donate physical structures to the Centre and have them named after them.

The integrated football village, our Stephen Keshi Football and Vocational Training Centre, is a comprehensive facility with football-playing pitches, hostels, an agro-allied section, primary and secondary schools, vocational training workshops, etc. The cost of building the SKFVTC, which runs into billions of Naira, has been phased for ease of execution. The starting point is developing the two training pitches, hostels, main entrance gate, infrastructures, and other ancillary facilities to enable us to host the 8th edition of the annual Stephen Keshi National Under 17 Football tournament at the complex in 2025.

To achieve the above, our Father, His Royal Highness, Edun Akenzua MFR JP, the Enogie of Obazuwa Dukedom, an ex-footballer, and a close friend of the late Stephen Keshi who has left us to join his ancestors, kickstarted the immortalization of project SKFVTC. His Royal Highness graciously gifted a massive expanse of land measuring 1,000ft by 1,000ft at Obazuwa, upon which we plan to build the Stephen Keshi Football and Vocational Training Centre. We recognize that without the support of our community members, stakeholders, and potential investors, this project would not be possible. Once again, we thank His Royal Highness for the gift of the parcel of land, his wise counsel, and his patience before his passing. We appreciate Enogie’s gesture.

The Super Eagles football team is Nigeria’s pride at home in the global sporting arena. Unfortunately, the team has been dogged by managerial styles and playing approaches that depend on the dictates and philosophies of the football authorities at different periods of our footballing history. The hiring of foreign and local coaches fluctuates depending on the philosophy and ideological leanings of the person at the helm of affairs in the Nigeria Football Glass House.

When I hear people say that our local coaches cannot perform like their foreign counterparts, I say it is because such people have a level of selective amnesia and forget what Stephen Keshi achieved for this nation as a player and as a coach. Besides, Keshi made history as the first African coach to qualify two separate African Nations, Nigeria and Togo, for the FIFA World Cup. He also qualified Nigeria to win the Nations Cup trophy and for the World Cup the same year.

Stephen Keshi’s experience demonstrated that Local coaches profoundly understand our unique challenges. They speak the same language and share the same understanding with those they lead. They comprehend the pains and challenges of our local talents, abundant in every corner of Nigeria. This unique understanding sets them apart and makes them invaluable to our footballing landscape.

Regrettably, our local coaches are often less motivated than their foreign counterparts. How can we expect them to perform when their unpaid salaries and promises for improved emoluments remain unfulfilled? Until their last breath, coaches like Sebastian Brodericks, Owalen Izilien, Ahamadu Shuaibu, and Stephen Keshi were owed what was rightfully theirs. Even the scriptures affirm that a laborer is worthy of his wage. It is high time we ensure that our local coaches are treated fairly and with the respect they deserve.
The managerial dilemma of local coaches has some severe drawbacks because of limitations to international training and standards. While the foreign coaches have a vast wealth of technical experience and exposure, their approaches seem transactional because they hardly align with the pains and challenges of our locals. Besides, they are kilometers apart from our shared heritages, cultures, and languages. So, to overcome our football challenges, navigating the coaching conundrum would require a blend of the unique strengths of the local and foreign coaches.

The SKFVTC journey has been rough and tough. But we remain resolute. But Austin Popo, a great foot soldier and believer in the project, has made a huge sacrifice to be where we are and still standing. His resilience is unimaginable and humbling. I also thank my co-board members, including ex-internationals Comrade Tijani Babangida Mon, Mutiu Adepoju, and Customs Assistant Comptroller Jibo Bello. Others include Comrade Bobboi Bala Kiaganma, Prof Kenneth Anugweje, David Aigbovo, Ifeanyi Nweke, and Prince Akharese Akenzua.

Before taking my seat, let me thank the erudite speakers in the persons of Coach Fanny Amun, MON, a man known for his speed and agility in his playing days, and an administrator per excellence, Peter Nieketien, a laurel winning Ex-player who has left lasting legacies in football, the CEO of Master Sports Limited, Ejiro Omonode, a notable sporting figure with several awards, and Coach Eldred Sunju Abbey, a man known for his passion in discovering young talents and a global leader.

In this SKFVTC journey, I cannot forget the SKFVTC Organizing Committee led by the Edo State FA Chairman for so many years, Kelvin Etemike, who is now the Chairman of the organizing Committee, Otasowie, and our media partners who have been highly passionate about the media visibility of the SKFVTC plans and activities. Lastly, my sincere thanks to the Ed State Government, the Chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission, honorable Yusuf Ali and former Mrs. Sabina Chikere for their unwavering support and commitment to our cause.

Thank you, and God bless. Your past support has been invaluable, and we look forward to your continued partnership in this journey.