Nigerian Youth League Will Tackle Slave Contract, Says Adakosa

Olawale Ajimotokanin Abuja 

The President/Founder, Nigeria Youth League Cup (NYLC), Robinson Adakosa, has said the league intends to confront the problem of Nigerian and African players signing slave contract with clubs in Europe and other parts of the world.

He affirmed this in Abuja over the weekend at the launch fundraising gala on NYLC. 

Adakosa said the League will project the lot of Nigerian footballers and give them a visible platform to display their talents.

He criticised some Shylock agents fond for ripping off academy and club owners of fortune and wanting to reap where they did not sow, saying it was time for club and Academy owners to now enjoy the fruit of their labour. 

“The NYLC was borne out of frustration from stakeholders especially Academy owners and footballers. From my own background, I have a football academy and it pains a lot after spending so much money, your resources after training those guys and at some point when you expect to make some money out of your investment, then you see clubs and agents from abroad want to get these players free of charge. They will be asking for free agent and all like that.

“They would say, ‘I can’t really sign this player unless he is a free agent’. So, it becomes frustrating. And because the players are also desperate, they also want to betray the club owners despite what we sink into the business to make sure that they get the visibility they needed. But out of desperation, they want to betray their contracts, they want to sign with these agencies and clubs in Europe,” Adakosa said. 

 He lamented that African players in wrong clubs, who end up giving them peanut. 

“Sometimes, if you look around and see some of the guys you heard have gone to Europe, you just see some of them roaming the streets. Some of them being deported, some being involved in other criminal activities. And when you interview them, they would tell you they’ve been deceived and misled. And for us to stop this, I have interviewed stakeholders, leagues, top agents, top clubs and the question was “Why is it that they don’t have value for Nigerian or African players?” He said.

He added that the NYLC is not just a youth league but a competitive and structured one that is technology-driven and in partnership with Bundesliga and Ligue 1 that would give the players the visibility they require.