Austin Eguavoen, Ike Shorunmu laud Copa Coca-Cola

Former Nigeria internationals Austin Eguavoen and Ike Shorunmu ae pleased with Coca-Cola for its contribution to the development of football in Nigeria through the Copa Coca-Cola tournament.

Alongside ex-colleagues, Mutiu Adepoju and Tajudeen Disu, Shorunmu and Eguavoen graced the national finals which kicked off in Lagos on Monday as guest celebrities for its coaching clinic.

Former Super Eagles goalkeeper and trainer, Shorunmu, applauded the qualities of the kids in the competition but frowns at the heights of his trainees [goalkeepers] during the coaching clinic while highlighting that continuity of Copa Coca-Cola is vital in the development of young talents across the country.

"It is a wonderful project, it's not easy to gather these kids from all the states in Nigeria," Shorunmu told Goal.

"It's a commendable project that is making these kids opened to life, and it's very good. Kudos to the good job they [Coca-Cola] are doing and I hope they will continue to get the best legs and the hands from this project.

"It's a thing of continuity. When you continue this kind of project, you've gone through all the states, you must have learnt new things and these things are what you work on in subsequent editions.

"What I've seen on ground today [Monday], is very encouraging, and consistency is key.

"The only problem I have with them is their height, because you can see about two tall kids around in my department [during coaching clinic]. They're all good, they've got the qualities but the height is the problem."

“When we talk about talent, that is where academy [football academy] comes in, because academically, we have to do more of theory now, of the field, watching the visuals and convincing them of why they have to keep believing,'' Eguavoen said.

“We have the talents, we’re not doing badly but we can do better.

“We have to keep records of these boys and once in a while, you try to reach out and check up on their progress but we are not.

“Like I said, four players I have scouted in my group, I will try to do follow up and reach out to the family, of course the parents and the child," he concluded.