The Journey Man Agent
I would like to touch on the other aspect of my football walk as a football agent to give some sort of funny insight, particularly my early days as a journey man, I mean my novice years. I have had to learn the ropes of the industry the hard way but it has been quite interesting. One of the things I have had to learn is trust and credibility with football players. Of course the issues of age falsification cut across board, most African countries are affected by this but I will not want to open that can of worms now, probably in subsequent articles. For ostensible reasons, the kinds of player that get attracted to me are mostly Africans ranging from Nigerians , Ghanaians, Ivorians e.t.c, but particularly Nigerians. Nigerian players are a very special bunch for many reasons. Firstly, it is quite challenging working with Nigerians unfortunately, I found it difficult admitting this but Ghanaians are easier to work with than Nigerians. It does not mean that I have cut off working with Nigerians but I just do so with extra caution. Secondly, Nigerian players will most of the time not commit themselves to one agent meaning that they can deal with multiple at the same time. This leads me to one of my numerous experiences.
Got my hands Burnt
A scout who happens to be a very good friend introduced me to a player who at the time was the top goal scorer in the Nigerian Premier League, I had spoken to the club chairman and had regular conversations with this player. The player was scoring goals and generally had a very good season. I spoke to an agent friend about this player and a trial was arranged. The traveling documents and arrangement had been adequately catered for . The player was meant to travel immediately after a crucial game for his club. After the game, the player could not be reached as his phone had been switched off, made several efforts to get hold of the player but all to no avail. To my surprise, I was reading one of the online Nigerian sports website when I stumbled on the news that he had gone for another trial with another club, the chairman of the club actually arranged the trial. After this experience, I now tread cautiously when dealing with African players particularly Nigerian players.
Scandinavian Adventure
Over the years, I have been going to the Scandinavian countries,of which I have personally come to enjoy,the purpose of my visits have always been business related (Football business). I have been to Denmark and Sweden several times to sort of form a network with Technical directors of football clubs, I am of the opinion that African football players can launch their football careers in this region, This I believe will gradually introduce players into the European mode and playing pattern or style. As much as i believe African players are naturally gifted,they lack the basic rudiments of the game, hence, the choice of Scandinavian countries. I have personally come in contact with four club directors whom i have sort of forged a working relationship with. The main picture on the blog was actually one of several visits to Sweden, The name of the club was Mjällby AIF i.e Gbenga Arokoyo (Former Flying Eagles) present football club. There were three things that caught my attention during the visits, The locations of the clubs, The size of the stadium and the financial remunerations.
Town Location
My sojourn to this club was a brief one but an eye opener for me because I started to have some sort of feeling for African football players who want to come to Europe to pursue their football career at all cost. One of the visits that got me thinking was a town called Trellborg, to be candid i don't know whether to call it a town or a village. It is an extremely quiet town. Trellborg is One hour from the continental city of Malmo. Malmo is in the southern part of Sweden and the third largest city after Stockholm and Gothenburg .The town is on the sea coast of Sweden. I will be bored to death if was living in that part of the world .The town has a population of 25,643 as at 2005 and the capacity of the stadium is about 10,000. So my assumption is half of the town like football .(mark my words - assumption). But African footballers don' t mind going there to kick start their career. Nigeria's former International player ;Christopher Justice once played for this club. The club's priority at the time of visit is to stay afloat in the premier league, after getting promoted in 2006. The Club is so modest and can be compared to a business that is still in its infancy, Their entire administrative staff were just about ten, and the technical director Lasse Larsson said they were quite happy the way they were and they wanted to maintain that family environment.
Stadium Capacity
The staduim capacity of Trellborg as mentioned above was about 10,000, probably comparable to Onikan Stadium in Lagos or Barnet FC in England. The architecture was quite simple and a far cry from modern day stadiums, would pass for a training ground of some of the very big football clubs in Europe. The good side is that the stadium was well maintained, the grass is very green.Most of the stadiums in the Sweden are of the same size.
Financial Remuneration
The financial benefits in Sweden and some Scandinavian countries are not necessarily the best in comparison to some of their European counterpart. The average salary of a football player ranges from about (£3000 - £5000 a month), it is not bad if that is a starting point. From African football players' perspective, it is better and they are guaranteed regular income without the worry of salary arrears. Personally, I believe that football clubs in certain African countries have the potential of equalling the Scandinavians financially in an ideal situation . Five Thousand pounds is equivalent to about 1,240,725 naira (Nigeria) or 14,481.36 cedis (Ghana) and I don't think this is too much for a football club to reward its player in an ideal situation. If the respective football administrators can ensure that the professional football leagues are economically viable and good enabling business environment. Football players will not need to go to the Scandinavian countries and some obscure football leagues around the world . Now I am not saying that they should showcase their talents at the best stage which is Europe, (after all the South American players still go to Europe even though their league is well developed and the financial rewards/incentives are reasonably very good) , but it would not be for economic reasons. The North African league and South Africa are testaments that this is possible. This would also prevent greedy agents preying on the ignorance and desperation of young upcoming talents.
Got my hands Burnt
A scout who happens to be a very good friend introduced me to a player who at the time was the top goal scorer in the Nigerian Premier League, I had spoken to the club chairman and had regular conversations with this player. The player was scoring goals and generally had a very good season. I spoke to an agent friend about this player and a trial was arranged. The traveling documents and arrangement had been adequately catered for . The player was meant to travel immediately after a crucial game for his club. After the game, the player could not be reached as his phone had been switched off, made several efforts to get hold of the player but all to no avail. To my surprise, I was reading one of the online Nigerian sports website when I stumbled on the news that he had gone for another trial with another club, the chairman of the club actually arranged the trial. After this experience, I now tread cautiously when dealing with African players particularly Nigerian players.
Scandinavian Adventure
Over the years, I have been going to the Scandinavian countries,of which I have personally come to enjoy,the purpose of my visits have always been business related (Football business). I have been to Denmark and Sweden several times to sort of form a network with Technical directors of football clubs, I am of the opinion that African football players can launch their football careers in this region, This I believe will gradually introduce players into the European mode and playing pattern or style. As much as i believe African players are naturally gifted,they lack the basic rudiments of the game, hence, the choice of Scandinavian countries. I have personally come in contact with four club directors whom i have sort of forged a working relationship with. The main picture on the blog was actually one of several visits to Sweden, The name of the club was Mjällby AIF i.e Gbenga Arokoyo (Former Flying Eagles) present football club. There were three things that caught my attention during the visits, The locations of the clubs, The size of the stadium and the financial remunerations.
Town Location
My sojourn to this club was a brief one but an eye opener for me because I started to have some sort of feeling for African football players who want to come to Europe to pursue their football career at all cost. One of the visits that got me thinking was a town called Trellborg, to be candid i don't know whether to call it a town or a village. It is an extremely quiet town. Trellborg is One hour from the continental city of Malmo. Malmo is in the southern part of Sweden and the third largest city after Stockholm and Gothenburg .The town is on the sea coast of Sweden. I will be bored to death if was living in that part of the world .The town has a population of 25,643 as at 2005 and the capacity of the stadium is about 10,000. So my assumption is half of the town like football .(mark my words - assumption). But African footballers don' t mind going there to kick start their career. Nigeria's former International player ;Christopher Justice once played for this club. The club's priority at the time of visit is to stay afloat in the premier league, after getting promoted in 2006. The Club is so modest and can be compared to a business that is still in its infancy, Their entire administrative staff were just about ten, and the technical director Lasse Larsson said they were quite happy the way they were and they wanted to maintain that family environment.
Stadium Capacity
The staduim capacity of Trellborg as mentioned above was about 10,000, probably comparable to Onikan Stadium in Lagos or Barnet FC in England. The architecture was quite simple and a far cry from modern day stadiums, would pass for a training ground of some of the very big football clubs in Europe. The good side is that the stadium was well maintained, the grass is very green.Most of the stadiums in the Sweden are of the same size.
Financial Remuneration
The financial benefits in Sweden and some Scandinavian countries are not necessarily the best in comparison to some of their European counterpart. The average salary of a football player ranges from about (£3000 - £5000 a month), it is not bad if that is a starting point. From African football players' perspective, it is better and they are guaranteed regular income without the worry of salary arrears. Personally, I believe that football clubs in certain African countries have the potential of equalling the Scandinavians financially in an ideal situation . Five Thousand pounds is equivalent to about 1,240,725 naira (Nigeria) or 14,481.36 cedis (Ghana) and I don't think this is too much for a football club to reward its player in an ideal situation. If the respective football administrators can ensure that the professional football leagues are economically viable and good enabling business environment. Football players will not need to go to the Scandinavian countries and some obscure football leagues around the world . Now I am not saying that they should showcase their talents at the best stage which is Europe, (after all the South American players still go to Europe even though their league is well developed and the financial rewards/incentives are reasonably very good) , but it would not be for economic reasons. The North African league and South Africa are testaments that this is possible. This would also prevent greedy agents preying on the ignorance and desperation of young upcoming talents.
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| Olympic Stadium Djurgarden Stockholm Sweden |
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| Olympic Stadium Djurgarden Stockholm Sweden |
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| The entrance of Trellborg Stadium |
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| Waiting at the Bus Stop |
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| Myself and Former Technical Director of Djurgarden FC - Bo Anderson |
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| Spectators Seat of Trellborg FC |
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| Me at Stockholm Airport ( quite a small Airport) |
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| Boarding the Bus on my way to Trellborg Stadium |
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| Myself and Lasse Larsson Technical Director of Trellborg FC |
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| Inside View Stadium of the Trellborg |
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