Gombe FA Deploys 4-Tier League To Unearth Grassroots Talents

The Gombe State Football Association has established a four-tier domestic league structure to identify grassroots talents and create a pathway for their progression to professional football, its chairman, Yakubu Sarma, has said.

The structure comprises a statewide grassroots competition, League Two, League One and the Gombe State Super League, providing a progression route for players from rural communities and other parts of the state.

Sarma said the system had helped discover players who now feature for clubs in Gombe and other parts of the country at amateur and professional levels.

Speaking in an interview, he explained that the statewide competition, also known as League Three, serves as the entry point for grassroots players seeking opportunities to advance to higher divisions.

“We have what we call a statewide league, which most of our teams from rural communities and the hinterlands play in. We organise it to identify raw talent at the grassroots and link the players with clubs in our leagues,” he said.

According to Sharma, more than 120 clubs compete in League Two, which is organised into zones to accommodate teams across the state.

Clubs that progress to the round of 16 compete for promotion, with eight teams securing places in League One.

League One, which Sharma described as the state’s elite division, features 64 clubs. Teams risk relegation to League Two, while those that reach the round of 16 qualify for the Super League.

The Super League also accommodates clubs competing outside the state’s domestic divisions, including the four best-performing teams in Nationwide League One (NLO One) and the two leading sides in NLO Two.

Sarma said the association had also introduced a competition involving paramilitary and other security agencies as another avenue for identifying players for the Super League.

He explained that a technical team monitors the competition and selects outstanding performers for consideration.

“These structures have helped us discover a lot of talent. Some of the players are now with clubs in the state, while others have moved outside Gombe to play football at amateur and professional levels,” he said.

The chairman said the league system was designed to ensure that talented players from rural communities could progress through the divisions rather than remain confined to grassroots competitions.

He added that the association was investing in youth development, with emphasis on preparing young players technically before they compete at national level.

Gombe FA Makes Coaching Training Compulsory

Sharma said the association had made coaching education a key component of its development programme, requiring coaches working in League Two, League One and the Super League to undergo training organised by the FA.

He said the coaching clinics involved resource persons from the National Institute for Sports (NIS) and the Nigeria Football Federation’s technical department.

According to him, the association is also working towards establishing a formal partnership with both institutions to strengthen coaching education and improve technical standards in the state.

“We ensure that no coach stands on the touchline in League Two, League One or the Super League without going through our training,” Sharma said.

He added that the association had introduced a coaching education pathway to enable participants to acquire higher qualifications, including the Confederation of African Football’s D Licence.

Sarma said improving coaches’ knowledge and technical competence was essential to developing players and raising the overall standard of football in Gombe.

On the domestic competitions, he disclosed that the State League One final was expected to take place within the next two weeks, while the association was targeting December for the Super League final.

He expressed confidence that the combination of structured competitions, talent identification and compulsory coaching education would strengthen grassroots football and expand opportunities for emerging players across the state.