FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS) Coordinator in Nigeria, Nasiru Jibril, has highlighted the initiative’s role in eliminating age cheating in football as part of its broader objective to enhance talent development.
Jibril shared his insights during a review of the programme’s impact since its introduction in Nigeria in 2023.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) launched the initiative by assembling young talents from 10 states, offering them an opportunity to nurture their skills and progress into future stars.
“Without exaggeration, I would say that the TDS is the best thing that has happened to player discovery and development in this country in a long time.
Now that FIFA has recalibrated the U-17 World Cup for boys and girls to make them annual events, countries will need players aged 13 and 14 playing together for a while before they reach the U-17 level,” Jibril said.
The former Nigeria international expressed confidence in the programme following the U15 team’s performance against Morocco in recent friendlies in Rabat.
“After watching our U15s play against Morocco in the recent friendlies in Rabat, I am convinced that the TDS is a viable and achievable programme.
The FIFA TDS is really important for Nigeria, and I think when you have the U-17 AFCON, which will now be held every year, if you don’t have the TDS, it will be a huge task for the coaches of the U-17 teams,” he added.
Jibril, who previously represented Nigeria at youth and senior levels, believes the initiative will not only bolster Nigeria’s prospects in youth tournaments but also eradicate age cheating.
“I believe that with the TDS and the periodic camps that we have organized, and with the fact that we are keeping firmly in the frame the players that we already have, we are not only on the way to regaining our past glories in youth tournaments, but we will do much better in the years to come. The program will also certainly contribute to eradicating age cheating,” he stated.
He emphasised the importance of providing international exposure to young players, saying: “What we need to do is provide more international exposure for our U15 teams, by finding a way to send these youngsters to camps and play games abroad, so that they gain considerable experience of international matches from a young age.”
The TDS scouting process involved zonal selections, followed by three national training camps with 48 players identified from the initial talent pool.
All selected players are now part of the NFF’s official database, created using Google Forms, allowing team officials to track and access player information when required.
Jibril also confirmed that the U15 squad that travelled to Morocco will be promoted to the U16 category, enabling simultaneous training camps for both U16 and U15 teams when the FIFA TDS programme resumes in 2025.
