Dutch coach and Technical Director to the Royal Dutch Football Association, Arie Schans, has advised Nigerian coaches and football authorities to adopt the developmental vision of the Dutch if they hope to tap from the huge talent that abound in the country.
Schans, who is in the country to prepare grounds for a two-week international coaching course for football coaches in the country, maintained that the Dutch vision of grooming talent, if adopted will turn Nigeria into a football factory house in no distant future.
He further disclosed that their visit to the country was predicated on the desire by some well meaning Nigerians, who want to see the country take its rightful place in world football. He added that such could not be achieved if the coaches are not well tutored on what to do with all the talent at their disposal.
"We are here to give Nigeria the Dutch Vision, which is based on the vision that every individual coach must be involved in the developmental programme of the player; and to achieve this, every coach must be educated and knowledgeable about the game of soccer," he said.
Like Holland, he said Nigeria is richly blessed with talent but insists that the country and the football authorities must make the right choice on the way forward for her football.
He stressed that Dutch football does not compromise when it comes to the true age of players as it is central to the development and training needs of the players and by extension, the country’s football.
Earlier, Schans’ compatriot, Michael Van der Star, disclosed that the coaching programme will make it easy for retired players to go into coaching, thereby contributing to the growth of the game.
The team came courtesy of ex-international, Daniel Amokachi, and players’ Agent, Eddie Nwafor.
Amokachi, who is a holder of the UEFA Standard certificate, which the programme has on offer, stated that he was compelled to embark on the expedition because of the deficiency he discovered in the local coaches.
"This course is what you pay five thousand euros to attend excluding air fare to Holland. But we felt that with our sponsors, the cost can be subsidised so that many of our coaches can benefit.
"Let me say here that our problem in the country is not talent but coaching. I have worked with coaches and across the country, there are a lot of talent but we lack the coaches to guide them. We need to upgrade our coaches to upgrade our players," he said.
The course he added will come up in June this year and would cost participants about N350,000 instead of an estimated N980,000 per person.