The mother and father of 17-year-old striker Seiyefa Jackson have publicly denied claims by Rivers United FC that their son “absconded” from the membership.
In a press release on Tuesday, Peter Perebi and GodsPower Tamunogomabo, mother and father of the younger participant, stated the allegations made by Rivers United have been false, deceptive, and damaging to their son’s popularity.
Rivers United, in an earlier assertion, claimed that Jackson, who performed for his or her Feeders crew, stopped attending crew actions after claiming to be sick. The membership stated their medical crew discovered no indicators of sickness, and accused Jackson of reducing off communication and going into hiding. Additionally they alleged that Jackson had joined Ojodu Metropolis FC, an academy crew, with out permission or clearance, describing the transfer as a breach of contract.
However Jackson’s mother and father have challenged these claims. Talking on behalf of the household, they stated their son was by no means beneath any legitimate contract with Rivers United FC. Based on them, the membership had no authorized proper to say he had breached any settlement.
Additionally they accused Rivers United of selling Jackson to the senior crew with out parental consent, which they described as a violation of kid safety legal guidelines. “Seiyefa remains to be a minor. Any registration or contract ought to have had our approval, which they by no means obtained,” they acknowledged.
The mother and father defined that they’d formally ended any relationship their son had with Rivers United. “On February 10, 2025, we wrote to Rivers United FC informing them that Seiyefa was now not with the membership,” they stated. “We adopted up with one other letter on March 11, 2025, but they ignored our notices.”
They additional stated, “The declare that our son absconded is totally unfaithful. Seiyefa was by no means legally tied to Rivers United FC. His transfer was a authorized choice after we terminated any unauthorised registration by the membership.”
The household is now demanding a public apology from Rivers United and a retraction of the statements made towards their son. “Seiyefa is a younger participant with a vibrant future. We won’t enable these false accusations to wreck his profession,” they insisted.
In the meantime, Rivers United FC says it has reported the difficulty to the Nigeria Soccer Federation (NFF) and the Nigeria Premier Soccer League (NPFL). The membership insists Jackson left with out following the correct course of and has requested intervention from soccer authorities.
Rivers United’s Media Director, Charles Mayuku, stated, “We’re involved concerning the rising pattern of gamers ignoring their contractual obligations. We belief the NFF and NPFL will guarantee the principles are revered.”
Jackson made his senior debut for Rivers United on Could 26, 2024, in an NPFL match towards Sporting Lagos, the place he scored within the 86th minute to assist his crew win 4-1.
The dispute over his standing continues, as each events stand agency on their positions. In the meantime, Jackson is at the moment in Italy, the place he’s representing Ojudu Metropolis on the seventy fifth Viarreggio Cup match.
