Eagles star reveals plan to build a football academy

Super Eagles star, Wifred Ndidi, has sensationally revealed his future plans to give back to the society by bulding a football academy similar to the one in Aspire, Qatar.

According to him, the reason why he is furthering his education is to know how to invest resources towards the football retirement age. He is studying for a degree in business and tourism at De Montfort University in the United Kingdom.

‘I have spare time, so instead of sitting and playing FIFA, it’s good to understand the four walls of schooling,’ Ndidi tells Sportsmail. ‘When I was 12 or 13 I left home to further my football career and, while I kept up my studies, I always wanted to continue my education later in life.

‘I go for one-on-one sessions with a lecturer and I’ve recently done an exam, involving a project and a presentation. I got 63 per cent in the presentation and 65 per cent in the project. I’m really happy that De Montfort have been able to help.

‘I want to understand the outside world of business and I have a plan to build a school, similar to Aspire in Qatar (a sports academy that also provides secondary education). I’ve been there with the Nigeria national team and you see that young players are also receiving an education.

‘In Nigeria some players want to play football and then they forget about school. But if you do both you can continue with whichever one works out, instead of just hoping for football, football — and then you don’t make it.

‘All my life I wanted to play football and this is my career now but there was pressure from my dad not to go that way because he wanted me to stay at school. He was not convinced I was doing the right thing until he first saw me on television, playing for the Under 17 national team. The population of Nigeria is massive and it is so hard to make the grade as a footballer, so I have a clear vision of a place where you can play football and study, either in Lagos or Abuja.

‘I have spoken to my godfather about making it happen. If kids don’t make it in football, I want them to think they can get a degree and work, instead of roaming the streets.’
At 23, Ndidi’s outlook is strikingly mature but he has been overcoming challenges from a young age. When he was barely a teenager, he left the family home to join the Nathaniel Boys Football Academy in Lagos. He then spent nine months in a training camp in Calabar, in the south of the country, with Nigeria Under 17 squad.

Players were allowed access to their phones only for a few hours on Sundays so they stayed focused on the qualifiers for the African Under 17 Championship.

By the age of 18, Ndidi had moved to Europe permanently after accepting a contract with Genk in the Belgian top flight.

He stayed with a local family who remain friends to this day and travel to England once a month to watch him in action for Leicester — even though Ndidi’s lack of adventure with his diet was a constant source of frustration.

He recalls being offered lobster but they ‘complained as the only thing I asked them to cook was rice’, he chuckles. ‘Just rice! They would say, “Try this, try that?” and I would say no.’ Ndidi has become a little less fussy at the table since then and there is no doubt that Rodgers’ recipe at Leicester is working for him.

Having grown up as a centre back, Ndidi is still adapting to his role at the base of midfield but feels he is making up for the lost time. Since joining Leicester in January 2017, he has worked under four permanent managers — Claudio Ranieri, Craig Shakespeare, Claude Puel and Rodgers — and only now does he feel his potential is being unlocked.

‘He (Rodgers) has given me so much information,’ Ndidi reveals. ‘If I had known this for a long time, the way I think I’m going… I feel comfortable and happy, knowing these things.

‘What have I learned? First of all, it’s about facing the larger part of the pitch when I receive the ball. Then it’s knowing when to go with one touch, two touches, or when to leave the ball and just go with the body. At first, when I’d been converted from a central defender to a midfielder, I didn’t know these things.

‘I just went out and played. When it’s a tight situation on the pitch, sometimes I don’t really go and ask for the ball, but this information has really helped my confidence, even to ask for the ball during the game.
Brendan Rodgers has changed the way the players see and understand the game. When he came, at first we didn’t understand everything, but the manager has brought out this fire in everyone.’

Read Also:Ndidi set for Premier League appearance record

Ndidi first became aware of Leicester when they won the title in 2015-16, shortly before he joined the club. Veterans from that campaign remain — Kasper Schmeichel, Jamie Vardy, Wes Morgan — while Jonny Evans has title-winning experience with Manchester United.