Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Idah Peterside has expressed that the victories of Victor Osimhen, Asisat Oshoala, and Chiamaka Nnadozie at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards on Monday bode well for Nigerian football.
“The recognition of Asisat in the female category, Osimhen in the male category, and Chiamaka as Goalkeeper of the Year is an encouraging and positive sign that Nigeria still possesses exceptional talents,” Peterside mentioned during a live interview on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’.
The former goalie said the trio’s victory “is like a beacon of light in a previously dark tunnel,” noting that the “national teams have faced challenges in recent months and years.”
He emphasized the significance of fostering talent at the grassroots and praised Osimhen for recognizing Emmanuel Amunike before receiving his award.
Peterside recounted Osimhen’s path, originating from a humble background eight years ago, emphasizing the potential for identifying and nurturing talent at the grassroots level.
‘Need For Structures’
The former goalkeeper also pointed out the need for effective structures in both local and national football to consistently produce outstanding players.
“When you look at the trajectory of every one of those players, the structures down came from Nigeria. Asisat played for the local teams, Chiamaka played for the local teams, and now they’re playing in Europe,” Peterside said.
“That’s why it is so important—very vital that the structures must be right.”
He advocated for the investment in grassroots football and football associations, asserting that such investments would generate a substantial pool of talented players for Nigeria on the global stage.
“We’ve been hearing structures, but the structure here has to be right at that national level to be able to produce great players,” the former goalie said.
“Look at how they’re doing very well internationally; if we invest more in our grassroots football if we invest more in our FAs, they will begin to chunk these kinds of players, you see.”
Excited about the achievements of these players, Peterside concluded, “Imagine how many talents we can have; we have great potential in Nigeria. Their success in wearing the green colour symbolises the rich source from which they emanate.”
Peterside also highlighted the problem of placing excessive emphasis on players abroad, stating that it has a detrimental impact on the development of football in Nigeria.
“I think a whole lot of emphasis has been placed on players that are playing outside the country and with that, it is daunting our development. You find out that no one looks into our league; no one looks into our league; no one is bothered about what happens in our states in leagues; and in FAS, the attention has drifted to Europe.”
“When you look at the female team in every tournament, you will see that we have a whole lot of players that are playing at home.”
Peterside also condemned the prevailing trend in Africa, where there is an overreliance on FIFA, expressing concern that every action is accompanied by FIFA involvement.
He called for increased autonomy and self-development within African football, emphasizing the necessity for independence from FIFA’s continual oversight.
“What is happening in Africa is that we are beginning to depend so much on FIFA, which is not right. Every other Federation wants to be independent from FIFA and we can now meet at FIFA.
“Everything we do, FIFA sends us a secretary. Every time there’s an opening of a nursery school, you see the FIFA president there.
“And we have been saying to the CAF president, our union is not FIFA, we need to develop ourselves.”