Nigeria Football Federation and ex-international / former Coach of the Super Eagles, Samson Siasia, have commended the Pepsi Football Academy for 24 years of sustainable contribution to the development of grassroots football in Nigeria.
NFF’s Deputy Technical Director, Mr. Siji Olagunju, who represented the Chairman of the football federation, Mr. Amaju Pinnick, at the event said the NFF rated the Pepsi Academy highly because of its well structured and technically fortified organisation with competent youth coaches under the leadership of Coach Kasimawo Laloko.
He further urged the Academy not the rest on its laurels but continue to work harder in discovering and training the next generation of talented and skillful players for Nigeria.
Siasia also described the Pepsi Academy as the best in Africa based on its structure and what it has achieved in the last 24 years. He urged Pepsi Football Academy to collaborate with NFF and other academies to fully harness the potentials of budding footballers in the country.
Head of Marketing, Seven-Up Bottling Company Plc, Mr. Norden Thurston, restated the commitment of Seven-Up Bottling Company to make the Pepsi Football Academy one of the best in the world and urged the coaches and players to support the company in this vision.
Four teams drawn from the under 18 players from Pepsi Football Academy centres in Ilorin, Aba, Kaduna and Lagos participated in the two day event. Aba emerged champions beating Kaduna by 3 – 1 while Lagos lost 1 – 4 to Ilorin in the third place match. Henry Nmecha from Aba emerged the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.
It would be recalled that PFA discovered and nurtured Chelsea defensive midfielder, John Mikel Obi, to stardom before the player moved to Lyn of Oslo and later Stamford Bridge
