The Nigeria Football Federation officials have said they will not allow football agents to take over the careers of members of the Golden Eaglets who won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in November.
The NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, who spoke in Lagos, said the Federation had learnt enough horrible lessons from the way agents mismanaged the careers of other young Nigerian players in the past.
Pinnick told our correspondent that the legal department of the federation has begun work so that the players and their parents would be the major beneficiaries of their contracts rather than the agents.
He said, “We are going to monitor these players and the contracts being thrown at them. The major beneficiaries must be the players and their parents and not agents who selfishly sign these kids away and then abandon them. The family has to be beneficiaries and of the FA — the custodians of the game in Nigeria.
“While the players get quality contracts, the NFF must ensure that they are in the right places because these players can form the bulk of the Super Eagles in a few years to come. So gone are the days when they were left to their fates and then they end up in Hong Kong or Burma where they get nothing financially and also become useless to Nigerian football.
“Yes, we cannot breach their rights and stop them from travelling but we will religiously monitor where they go, who is taking them there and what they are signing. People are already calling them and it is our duty to protect them and build a future for Nigerian football.
“We are all witnesses to what has happened to some of these players in the past. We cannot afford to produce world champions and five years down the line none is playing for the national team and you cannot point to a credible club where any of them is playing. This has to stop; we are asking these funny agents to please stay away.”
FA officials say the experience of the 2007 Eaglets who won the trophy in Korea has forced them to plan well for the current stars who returned from Chile last month.