BY JACOB AJOM
A FIFA-licenced players’ agent, Babawo Mohammed has expressed disgust at the poor level of understanding of the business demands of modern football by the average Nigerian footballer, particularly, those plying their trades in the local league.

Speaking on the controversies surrounding Super Eagles Afcon hero, Sunday Mba, who Warri Wolves and Rangers International of Enugu are laying claim to, Mohammed said, “the problem is that, Sunday Mba, like most of his colleagues in the Nigerian league, does not have an agent.”

Mohammed who said he has about ten players in the various national teams under his stable described the average Nigerian football player as greedy.

“That is why they don’t want to have qualified agents as their managers,” he adduced. “Look at Mba, he caused the whole problem by himself. He would not have a manager so that he would not have to share his money with him when a deal comes. If he had a manager, he would not have found himself in this kind of mess.”

He advised that since modern football has been transformed into big business, players and managers must be operating at the same pedestal. He therefore counselled that before a player goes into contract talks with any club, he must involve a recognised agent.

“Managers don’t only manage players’ careers, they also prepare the player for life after retirement. It is therefore instructive that a player needs a manager from the beginning of his career so that he would not have complications in his career.”