Widely travelled Nigerian footballer Henry Makinwa has revealed that a number of Nigerian footballers are stranded in Europe.


Makinwa‘s career has seen him play in 10 countries namely Spain, Portugal, Scotland, Romania, China, Israel, Malta, Egypt, Cyprus and Indonesia.


He told our correspondent on the telephone from Spain on Thursday, ”I made some investigation and found out that we have almost 2000 Nigerian footballers in Europe without clubs and are afraid to go back home because of the poor situation.


These players are too young to waste away like that.


”In Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Holland these players are wasting away. Some of them get jobs outside football while some play in the lowest divisions without resident permits; they remain illegal immigrants. When I was in Holland, Lisbon, Madrid, Brussels and Oslo, it was the same thing.”


Makinwa, who played under ex-Tottenham Hotspurs manager Juande Ramos at Rayo Valecano and was once a signing target for Jose Mourinho when he was at Vitoria Setubal, said a viable domestic league would solve the problem.


He said, ”Something has to be done and I think the solution is back home. Why can‘t we organise a standard professional league at home?


“I have my facts and I will hand them over to the government if they will listen to me. It is on how to solve this problem and how to make practical changes in one month. If government is interested, then I will come home to present it.


”We must organise our league so that these boys can go back home to play. It‘s alarming; they play football on Sundays and hope to get a breakthrough but it‘s impossible. I tell them to go back home but they always say ‘what are going to do when we get back home?‘ They prefer to remain illegal immigrants.


”Brazilians go home to play when they are not wanted in Europe; a big player like Ronaldo did it. Why is Kanu not back home to play the last years of his football? It‘s because we don‘t have a good league in Nigeria, no sponsorship and money.”


The player said most of the players were tricked into travelling to Europe and did not pass through the right process.


”They were not signed. Some came in through youth programes in Sweden, Portugal, Spain and other countries. Some others spent a lot of money coming; thinking when they come in, it will be easy to get a club. Some were lured by dubious agents,” the 33-year-old striker, who holds an EU passport, said.

http://www.punchontheweb.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012100364198

may God help them to overcome the problem they re facing

Must they travel to Europe first before they can be a proffesional footballer and make good money

adexchamp:

Must they travel to Europe first before they can be a proffesional footballer and make good money

errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, YES

Maybe, they'll get their breakthrough by being patient. I know it might not be easy for them, but the Good Lord will see them through, Amen!

i think they should trace there path back home now that there are changes in NFA and the super eagles. no place like home despite our dwindling economic system.

They will not like to come home like that without achieving something.

Too bad this sort of thing's happening.

I mean, 2000 players?

If they're good enough to feel they could make it in Europe,
wouldn't our local league be better off with them back in Nigeria?

Their[b] lack of faith in making it at home,[/b] coupled with the truth that
they probably wouldn't make it if they stayed , is the
reason they are wallowing in obscurity in Europe.

However, being illegal immigrants in countries where there must be
racist cops must be risky, but I trust 9ja guy now,

The pple in control of Nigerian Football are a BIG part of this problem, too.

Let them take the same route back home

They should just come back and play at home. John Owerri had a similar problem when he travelled abroad but he came back and now he's with Heartland. They should take a cue from that

Reasonable thread.

Makinwa, should shut up, he has no job in Italy any longer, now he looking a for new way to enter the NFF, he told those boys to go back home, can he pay 5 peoples ticket home some of them need ticket money to go back home.

jpworld you need not attack makinwa. he was telling us what most of us already know about how our young people have become dissidents and indigents all over europe, america and asia in the so called pursuits of the proverbial golden fleece. there is nothing golden about fleece but the efforts we put to achieve success whereever we are.

many youths have wasted their agile years travelling or attempting yo travel out of the country with the belief that life is more abundant elsewhere. this is not the case as some youths have practically found out.

Most wavemaking musicians in the country today have once being sojourning abroad with the mindset that being in europe or america will brighten their chances and uplift their career. they realised painfully that they took a wrong step and having made the most difficult decision of returning home and put their energies out to task have all become success. The likes of Ikechukwu, D'banj, Banky W and the rest are testimonies.

What all these over 2000 young footballers need to do is take that painful decision and return home and help uplift the local league the way their counterparts in music have done.

in naija today, you can hardly hear foreign songs being played at parties, even or radio and teevees, naija music is all over the place. this becomes the case because our young musicians flocked back home from europe and america and we can all see the result of it for the practitioners and the economy. they did not wait until government through various agencies did something about piracy and other ills before retracting and retracing.

the truth is if you are known for something at home, no matter how poor the reputation is you can hardly be recognised outside.

let them return home and struggle for their football skills in their country or continue their life sentence in obscurity and penury.

the truth is if you are not known for something at home, no matter how poor the reputation is you can hardly be recognised outside. do something worthwhile at home then take it outside for improvement and better sales. europe and america have enough of their own economic problems inspite of the obvious opulence. not everything that shine is diamond, many are just rubies.

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What problem did you say stephen makinwa has? I think he change job. I dont want to believe what I am thinkg about stephen makinwa.  NO dont tell me,  Is he from ondo.
No I dont want to believe it.







In January 2005 sold to Atalanta in joint-ownership bid, but Atalanta relegated in June 2005, in although the club decided to buy the remain rights on 27 June.

In July 2005, Makinwa joined Palermo in a reported €7.5M.[2] Makinwa only remained at Palermo for a season, however he showed enough promise to suggest that he could develop into a quality Serie A player, scoring 5 goals in 23 league matches as Palermo qualified for Europe.

[edit] Lazio
He then went to S.S. Lazio in summer 2006, on a co-ownership deal for €3.3million, being reunited with Delio Rossi, his former coach at Atalanta. In June 2007, he was fully contracted by Lazio, following a blind auction between the biancocelesti and Palermo, for another €3.3million.

^^^ No he is from Ekiti. Ado Ekiti to be specific

no, i just read online , he is from ondo. I dont want to believe this. Hmmmmm

Becoomrich no dey argue with me jor.
We both played Footy with our bare feet on the streets of Ado Ekiti when we were younger.

you are telling lie.  Stephen Makinwa  best friend name is martin obafemi  and they both played together on the same street in lagos.

Martins obafemi signed a long-term contract with Inter Milan worth around €2.5 million
Newcastle United signing for around £10 million in a five year deal.
Newcastle accepted a £9million
€17 million to reigning Russian Premier League champions Rubin Kazan


I still dont want to believe this yet. No no, dont tell me what I am thinking is true.

This is how Stephen Makinwa look like now

makinwa look like someone I know.

...