NFF Unveils Youth Development Plan,YDP.

The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has described the federation's Youth Devlopment Plan, YDP, as a national plan and vision built on international best practices that would be realised on designated football field on weekend basis.

Its President, Amaju Pinnick, made this statetmet yesterday, through the NFF Second Vice-President, Shehu Dikko, at the official unveiling ceremony of the Youth Development Plan, which will officially kick-off next month across the nation.

Dikko, who is also the Chairman of League Management Company, LMC, said the programme which was hugely crucial to stimulate and captivate relevant football stakeholders to Nigeria's elite league, would promote the development of a well organised and structured football academy that would produce better home grown football players.

While explaining that, the YDP, is divided into five phases- Foundation, First Level, Elite Player Identification, pre-performance and Final Level Youth, the LMC Chairman, said the project would create wider platform and arrays well coached football players for recruitment to the State and National teams at all levels.

The NFF Second Vice-President, who mentioned that the programme would help to establish series of properly conducted training and efficient structure and also to provide a platform for development leagues, said the programme would encourage each State Football Associations to expand existing and prospective schools competitions at various age categories, adding that Channels Kids Cup would be adapted and strictly be for kids in primary schools.

Apart from seven states that are administering Principal's cup in the nation, Dikko, assured that other states FA would be encouraged to aggressively seek for sponsorship, stressing that, the best players would be scouted to represent their states, after which the NFF would select the best players from each geo-political zones to form a virile squad.

The Chief Economist of Zenith Bank, Maxcel Okeke, who stood in for the bank's Manging Director, Peter Amangbu, said the financial institution was delighted to establish a cordial relationship with the NFF that had laudable programmes geared at regenerating the standard of football in Nigeria.

Okeke, who stressed that, lackadaisical attitude of sports administrative had scared away potential and viable sponsors, said the Youth Development Plan was also part of their Civil Social Responsibility in empowering the youths.

He explained that the bank delve into a partnership deal with the NFF because of her level of accountability, integrity to move football to greater height.