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Pepsi May Dump Football Academy By Wale Ajimotokan Indications are rife that fizzy drink makers Pepsi may pull out of its long established grass-roots football developmental programme. Pepsi, which once held the Nigerian professional league franchise in the mid 90s, has supported the game by funding a football academy for a decade. The soft drink bottling company is also actively involved in the training of football instructors. THISDAYSports impeccably learnt that Pepsi may withdraw its resources because of what sources claim are the non-realisation of the objectives behind the setting up of the academy. The thinking in Pepsi is that the project has not fulfilled its primary target of producing players for Nigeria in age grade international football since the school was established some 10 years ago. Instead the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) has overlooked the academy by turning to professional and less glamorous local clubs in search of players to constitute the U-16 national team the Golden Eaglets. So far the only player from the academy to have made the grade remained Taofeek Oyesipe who made a few appearances with the fringe Super Eagles in 1999 before leaving the scene after his transfer to Ivorien club Asec Mimosas. None of the products of the academy have featured for the Flying Eagles or the Olympic team Pepsi poured its resources into the football academy after weighing the feasibility of a proposal drawn by Kashimawo Laloko during his first tenure as the technical director of the NFA in 1996. A source hinted that it has become financially astronomical running the academy, which has centres in Lagos, Abeokuta, Kaduna and Port Harcourt. But despite these drawbacks Pepsi has made some breakthroughs with the academy the most significant being the coaches training course it held last year in Lagos. The course was attended by two prominent former English footballers - Geoff Hurst, who scored a hat trick in the 1966 World Cup final, and Bobby Robson, a former England and Manchester United captain. After the visit to Nigeria Robson was on the verge of landing the Eagles coaching job for the last Nations Cup before Sports Minister Col. Musa Mohammed (rtd) torpedoed the move. Who Are We ? | About THISDAYOnLine.com | THISDAY People | Contact Us © Copyright 2000 Leaders & Company Limited

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