The Nigeria U17 team was hijacked by an influential based Lagos chief who used his financial powers to own players in the team by buying their economic rights, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
Yesterday they were beaten 4-2 by Netherlands in the round of 16 at the ongoing 2019 U17 World Cup bringing their campaign to an end. Their exit has opened issues on the team.
Many believed the coaches compromised in the selection of players and in their decisions to pick players at the tournament, they were also guilty of playing players loyal to a certain chief.
We gathered that the chief who regularly visits the team at their camp in Abuja penetrated the team via one of the assistants of the head coach Manu Garba. Garba later got to meet the chief but it’s unclear if he also played a role in helping him own some players in the team.
Although the players were picked from different academies in Nigeria, the chief usually gets information on the players that are doing well in camp and most times he buys part of their economic rights or all.
His methods goes beyond the players and the coaches as he most time induced their parents with cash to make them sign documents handing him the power of attorney. In one particular case he placed the family of one of the players on salary and even rented an apartment for them.
