By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Eleven youth footballers between the ages of 15 and16 have been selected by organisers of a three-day Bayern Munich Youth Cup held at Awka Stadium in Anambra State to join members of Team Nigeria for Germany trials in October 2022.

The players totalling a hundred in number were selected from 10 clubs based in the East, West and North.

Players selected include Sunday Godwin, Nnadi Chidera, Chukwuma Kosi, Lawal Waris, Jonsthan Victor and Victor Johnson,

Others are Aliu Shuaibu, Halifa Bello Abdulahi, Mohammed, Bashir Idris and Ugochukwu.

The selected reserve ten include, Sadiq Mohammed, Adeoye Tamise, Mohammed Adam Abubakar, Abdul Fatai, Mbazue Nzube, Onoja Uchenna,, Ayinde Ibrahim, Oladinla Oladayo, Ogbuozo Franklin (a goalkeeper), and Aladi Lateef.

Speaking at the end of the finals and selection process in Awka on Sunday, the Proprietor of VOE Foundation and representative partner of Bayern Munich in Nigeria, Obinna Edeh, expressed joy over the success of the three-day selection process, saying that it was worth the while.

He explained that Anambra was the only place where the tournament was held in an environment that compared with what was obtainable at Allianz Arena Germany.

“The selected players would be nurtured at the Bayern Munich Academy and we hope that they would hit the peak of their career in no distant time,” Edeh said.

Earlier in an interview with journalists, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of Aspire Foundation, Emeka Okeke, said his organisation would continue to provide the platform for Anambra and Nigerian youths to express themselves at the world stage, adding that every expense was well worth it.

He said that as a private organisation, he would continue to support the efforts of the government by sponsoring events that would promote marketable skills and develop talent.

According to him, the issue of race, tribe or background has no place in selecting talented players and giving them opportunity to grow and improve their craft.

He said: “My interest is to discover and nurture talents from anywhere in Nigeria and give them the platform to excel in their craft. In doing this, there’s no room for tribalism, discrimination and the likes. We give equal opportunity.

“When sports is concerned, tribe should be placed at the background, so as to give the qualified their opportunity. Im here to lift people and I have not even scratched the surface.

“You can’t pick someone that is not good because he is your tribe and push him into what he is incapable of doing. He will simply go there and fail, while there are others that can perform better.”

The Bayern Youth Cup was held under the technical supervision of Hans Pflugler, a retired German player and member of the 1990 World Cup-winning team, with support from Christopher Loch, coach of Bayern Academy.

One of the selected players, Nzube Mbaezue, said he was happy to have made the team and was hopeful that the trip to Germany would help him achieve his dream of being a professional Footballer.

The competition was won by FC Hearts of Kano who were the defending champions.

Bayern Youth Cup was jointly sponsored by Aspire Foundation, VOE Foundation, Bayern Munich FC and Anambra Sports Development Commission.