Esthington Sports Academy: Sunrise In Nigeria's Sports Development.
In the past, our parents regaled us with captivating stories of the enthralling exploits of players in the Nigerian local clubs in National league tournaments. Clubs like Rangers International FC of Enugu, Stationery Stores FC of Lagos, the Kano Pillars, the Mighty Jets of Jos, IICC Shooting Stars and others were crowd-pullers. Names like Chairman Christian Chukwu, Adokie Amesiameka, Mathematical Odegbami, Mudashiru Lawal and others were the soccer sensations who drew large armies of devoted fans to themselves and their respective clubs each time they played in the Division 1 league which is now known as the Nigerian Premier League.
Dr. Darlington Ugota (Founder, Esthingthon Sports Academy and Chairman Esthingthon FC and Esthingthon Female Basketball Club).
With the effluxion of time, sports, especially football, became a religion of sorts, uniting Nigerians in passion and catalyzing the surge of great football talents who demonstrated their skills in street, village, community and school tournaments. It was this talent wave that generated the second generation players like Rashidi Yekini, Akin Akinseyinde, Finidi George, Daniel Amokachi, Sampson Siasia, etc and made Nigeria the talent hub of world soccer for generations. With time, the leagues were proliferated into four categories to create room for the incubation of the many talents that Nigeria was blessed with. Stars like Jay-Jay Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo, Taribo West, the Babayaros, Tijani Babangida, Pascal Patrick, Mutiu Adepoju etc who dazzled soccer firmaments globally were products of this organic Nigerian sports set-up.
Up: Esthingthon FC technical Manager and Nigeria's ex-international footballer, Akin Akinseyide (4th left) with members of the coaching crew. Down: The Home Boys Team.
However, the fame and income which sports in general and football in particular brought to stars made sports in Nigeria very competitive. With time, corruption and favouritism overwhelmed the selection process for competitors, coaches and contingents even for prime continental and global competitions. Sports policies were also infused with private and pedestrian emotions. These began to affect the performances of contigents in local and international engagements especially in football. The dismal performances of teams in Nigerian local leagues gradually weakend the interest of Nigerian people in Nigerian local football leagues.
From the blues, Multichoice Television began broadcasts of foreign leagues in Nigeria. The actions of the foreign leagues, even though watched virtually by Nigerian football lovers, overwhelmed and dismantled the interests of the Nigerian football fan constituency in the Nigerian local football completely. Veiwing centres sprang up in every nook and cranny. Preachments of patriotism could not change anything since all that football lovers and sports investors needed were good sports action and solid fan base. Currently, one finds Nigerian devotees of foreign clubs celebrating their respective foreign club wins in champagne-laden carnivals and sometimes in fights. The result of this is that local sports especially football talents either waste or are exploited by shylock promoters, while others 'pass through the eye of the needle' to develop themselves. The combined impact of this scenario has weighed down sports development as well as human capital development and other opportunities that come with it. The situation was one that demanded interventions from patriotic individuals with passion not only for the development of sports, but also for the development of the many sports talents to give the bearers new and better life.
The establishement of Esthingthon Sports Academy in Ebonyi State by an Ebonyi-born multi-billionaire, real estate mogul, sports lover and common good ambassador, Dr. Darlington Ugota, is one bold intervention in sports development worth national acclaim. No doubt, Dr. Ugota is not the first individual or Nigerian to establish a sports academy, but evidences abound that Ugota is one Nigerian with largest vision and individual commitment for sports development in Nigeria. A study of the recruitment method of Esthingthon Sports Academy show that it is tuition free, while the welfare of the trainees are assured. With the barricade of financial barriers broken, Esthingthon Sports Academy has become a vehicle through which young sports talents could fulfill their destinies irrespective of their economic status.
Dr. Ugota has equipped Esthingthon Sports Academy to be independent and to complement Ebonyi State Government's efforts in sports development. To reflect gender sensitivity, Esthingthon Sports Academy which is two months old launched Esthingthon Football Club, also known as "the Home Boys"; and Esthingthon (Female) Basketball Club bent on awakening Ebonyi girls to rule the game of basketball. The Home Boys club which has a Nigerian ex-international footballer, Akin Akinseyide, as team manager, and equally parades Coach Simsim Morrison, an experienced sports consultant and member of Coaches Association of Nigeria as head coach, is bound to rule Nigerian soccer space through excellence.
Speaking to newsmen before a friendly match which the Home Boys won by 4 - 0 goal margin in Abakaliki on Wednesday, Esthingthon Football Club General Manager, Barr Ifeanyi Nworie, said that, "The chairman of Esthingthon FC, Dr. Darlington Ugota, has prioritized the welfare of the players for optimum performance". Preparatory to the soccer engagements in the forthcoming 2025 Division 1 league, Esthingthon FC has played many friendlies and the results of their friendlies have set them on a trajectory of wins in the approaching 2025 league.
The courage and compassion which Dr. Darlington Ugota has infused in his vision for sports development in Nigeria and the promises it holds for young Nigerian talents qualify Esthingthon Sports Academy as a heartwarming venture. Certainly, Esthingthon Sports Academy represents a new and better beginning which is largely seen by soccer pundits as the sunrise in sports development in Nigeria. All patriotic Nigerians are hereby charged to support the Esthingthon vision.