Dolphins of Port Harcourt Coach, Stanley Eguma and his Sharks FC counterpart, Gbenga Ogunbote, could not hide their delight at the quality of young footballers paraded at the final of the Port Harcourt leg of the Nestle Milo Football Clinic held at the Sharks Stadium.

The final of the Port Harcourt leg of the Milo clinic was held on Saturday with veteran coaches and games masters joining former Super Eagles captain, Peter Rufai, in taking the children through scientific grooming in different approaches to football.

Speaking after a two-a-side novelty match involving 32 boys and girls selected by the coaches during the clinic, Eguma praised Nestle Milo for the “novel idea, which if sustained will change the face of Nigerian football.”

According to Eguma, “bringing all these innocent children to exhibit their talents uncorrupted by any tactics is a good way of unearthing genuine talents. I have seen so many boys here who can grow to become stars in the future if well managed.

“Milo has ignited a fire that would bring forth great players, not only for RiversState, but also for Nigeria. I am so excited to be a witness of this great event.”

Ogunbote, who has just guided Sharks of Port Harcourt out of the relegation zone in the Glo Nigeria Premier League, described the Milo Football Clinic as a revolution in grassroots development, which has thrown up many future soccer stars.

“What Milo is doing is a revolution, which in the nearest future would be of immense benefit to Nigeria.

“I have seen some refreshing talents that have reminded me that Nigeria is blessed with youngsters, who can take the country back to the summit of international football. I thank Milo for this gesture, which should be emulated by all good corporate organisations operating in Nigeria.”

Speaking at the end of the clinic, Milo Brand Manager, Funmi Osineye, disclosed that the fourth edition of the clinic, which theme is, “Let’s build champions,” is designed not only to coach the children with the world class football skills, but also equip and teach them the key five values learnt from sports, including determination, discipline, respect, honesty and team work required for them to succeed in the ultimate game of life.

“We are particularly delighted that 6,000 football talents have been trained from Abuja, Benin and Port Harcourt, being the first three cities we have visited for this fourth edition and 8,000 more children would be trained as we move to Enugu, Akure, Abeokuta and Lagos. This year 14,000 football champions would be trained in total,” she said.

At the end of the Port Harcourt leg of the clinic, each of the 2,000 participants went home with a certificate and various Milo gifts, just as every member of the Team A, which won the novelty game 2-1, got N40, 000 bursary scholarship, a football, Milo school trolley bag and various Milo gifts.