October 09, (THEWILL) – Former Nigerian football icon, Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha, has reiterated his call for better management of the Nigerian league to attract more investors.
In an interview on Monday, Okocha said he stood by his recent comments that he would rather watch the English Premier League than the Nigerian league. He explained that his judgement was not biased but aimed at waking up league managers to address issues like lack of grassroots development, academies and live coverage.
Okocha stated: “The future of football is grassroots development and that is the point I am trying to make. At this stage, we should have been able to put structures in place that can enable us to say that these are our future players.”
The former Bolton captain said, “It hurts to see that the efforts that we have put in those years have not been built on.” He reiterated the league must be made attractive for people like him to get involved and to attract corporate investors. Okocha stressed: “It is not rocket science; it is a matter of mindset and our desire to do the right thing.”
Regarding top players moving to Saudi Arabia, Okocha said: “I wouldn’t resist the offers being made by Saudi Arabian clubs myself.” Okocha emphasised: “If I am hungry, nobody will remember me.” He finished with the rationalisation: “Feeding your family is better than filling your cabinet with trophies.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
