Former Nigeria international Friday Elahor has called for urgent reforms in grassroots football, warning that age falsification and the proliferation of questionable football academies are undermining the development of young players in Nigeria, Sports247.ng reports.
Elahor expressed concern over the country’s struggles at the Under-17 level, insisting that the problems facing Nigerian youth football must be addressed from the grassroots rather than focusing solely on results at international tournaments.
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“We have to go back to the grassroots because we started from there,” Elahor said.
“Mostly, that Under-17 team, there are failures, hopefully, because I don’t know what is happening to that Under-17 team. Whether it is because of the age or I don’t know what is happening, because for some time now we have not been to the Under-17 tournament. I think something is wrong somewhere.”
The former international identified the growing number of football academies operating without proper youth-development structures as another major concern.
“We have too many football academies in Nigeria. Let me just use that, some fake ones,” he said.
“You see somebody who is about 30, he says he’s playing academy. Academy is meant for Under-16, Under-17, 15, 16, 17. Academy, you are 28, you are 30 because you want to travel out of the country.”
Elahor argued that such practices have damaged the credibility of the country’s youth football system and could prevent genuinely eligible players from receiving opportunities to develop and represent Nigeria.
“So all those things affected the football system,” he added.
He also questioned the role of coaches in ensuring that players selected for age-grade competitions meet the required age limits.
“Our coaches too, instead of bringing the right age to the football Under-17, we are bringing Under-20, Under-25 to come and play Under-17. We have problems.”
Elahor maintained that restoring credibility to youth development would require stronger age verification, better oversight of football academies and a renewed commitment to identifying and nurturing players at the appropriate stages of their careers.
