Ugochukwu Iwuchukwu
Rivers State Government says the Real Madrid Academy will create different job opportunities for youths in the state.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Real Madrid Academy, Chris Green said this during the recruitment exercise of the academy in Port Harcourt.
Chris Green said the Real Madrid Academy will combine both academics with football skills to train the future stars in the academy.
He said that most layers who failed to succeed at the international level was due to lack of education and said the academy was open by the Governor Nyesom Wike administration to nurture complete players who can compete favourably with their counterparts in other parts of the world.
He revealed that the State Government is committed to the success of the academy and assured that successful applicants will receive world class education because the facilities at the institution are the best in the country.
Chris Green also express joy in the number of applicants that took part in the screening exercise.
The SA to the Governor on Real Madrid Academy said over one thousand persons from different states in the country applied to enroll in the academy and promised that the recruitment exercise will be transparent.
”What’s happening here is very impressive, it means that people have bought in what His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike is doing. Of course, the Real Madrid Football Academy is a deliberate plan by Governor Nyesom Wike to provide for the youths of our state and Nigeria in general. Because with this kind of project he has secured the future of our youths. He is building human capacity, job creation, wealth creation. The Real Madrid Football Academy is one project that can never go wrong because it’s a win-win thing for everybody in the sense that if you don’t make it in the act of footballing, you can make it in academics”.
”Of course, the facilities we have here are the best we can find in Africa. And I can tell you that we have over a thousand two hundred persons here coming from every state in this country. We have people from Jigawa, Borno, Sokoto, Kebbi, Taraba, Oyo, Ogun, all the South West, South East, and South-South are here for this exercise. And you can agree with me that we don’t have such a facility in Nigeria before now. And so, it is one project that is dear to the Governor, because part of what he wants to do is to help our youths to grow, to provide for them, to provide for their future and that is why we are having such a number today” he said.
RSG accuse parents of age falsification
In the meantime, the Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Prof Kaniye Ebeku has accused parents of manipulating the ages of their children.
Kaniye Ebeku said many applicants are above the required age of admission into Real Madrid Football Academy.
He also advised parents to imbibe good virtues in their children and not by teaching them how to lie.
The Education Commissioner said the attitude of the parents is causing a huge problem for the administrators and insist only candidates of the required ages will be recruited in the academy.
”We have found candidates on ground who are 14 years going to 15, 13 years going to 14. How do you reconcile this situation with the advert. And the parents have tutored some of them to tell lies consigning their age, consigning their class. We have found on ground, candidates proceeding to senior secondary classes, this advert is for only junior secondary one students. Many candidates that are here to write exams are in junior secondary two and three proceedings to senior classes. Of course, by the advert they are disqualified” he said.
Parents blast administrators for lack of organization
A parent Victor Smith while speaking to our correspondent said the screening exercise was poorly organized.
He said that lack of proper coordination by the administrators made the screening very tedious for the candidates.
Victor Smith said most candidates came around 8am but could not write the exams until late afternoon.
Another parent who spoke on condition of anonymity lamented the slow process of the screening exercise.
He frowns at the administrators are making the exercise very cumbersome for the candidates and the parents and appeal to them to put up a better structure for the future screening exercise.
