The new board member of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and proprietor of the Nigeria National League (NNL) side, FC One Rockets, Hon. Otuekong Nse Essien, has described Flying Eagles midfielder, Daniel Daga, as a special gift from God to Nigeria that should be managed properly for the country.
Daga, who was voted MVP of the WAFU B U20 AFCON qualifiers in Niger recently, has attracted interest from several European clubs, including English Premier League and German Bundesliga sides.
However, Essien who spoke to newsmen in Abuja said the sensational young star, currently on loan with the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) side, Dakkada FC, will not be allowed to join any club outside Nigeria until after the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia.
“Daga is a gift from God to Nigeria and the next generation of footballers Nigerians are expecting. He is cool headed, I manage him directly and he stays with me. He is a young boy and I don’t allow things to get into his head.
“I’m his father, if you may know because his parents handed him over to me and I’ll not leave him for anybody to influence him negatively.
“Several European clubs want him, but I’m not ready to let him go yet until after the U20 Africa Cup of Nations and FIFA World Cup,” Essien said.
Essien who represents Onna Constituency in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly reiterated his commitment to use his club, FC One Rockets and Academy, Carabana, to produce talented footballers for Nigerian national teams.
“My duty is to groom them young and expose them to Nigeria. I have a lot of players who played for me that have played at the national teams and there are a lot of young players who want to come to my team because they know that the platform gives them opportunities to showcase themselves.
“I’m not just into the national professional side, I have an Academy, Caranana Football Academy, that groom players to the main team, FC One Rackets and we are not doing badly in giving young people the opportunity to exhibit their God-giving talents.
“Life is about having a platform to exhibit what you can do in life and that is what we are trying to do for the young people. I’ve been sponsoring the team for four years now in the desire to develop the young people, give them the opportunity to become what they want to become in life and also look at football globally as business,” Essien said.
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