After returning from Nigeria at the end of July, where I spent four weeks with our team and crew, a lot has happened with Akabo United FC. This is a short summary of what has been going on in August.
Trials in Abuja
Our main team of 15 players traveled to Abuja after being invited by Central Academy for a trial period of 2–4 weeks. The journey from Owerri, Imo State, to Abuja took about 16 hours by minibus. Once in Abuja, the team stayed at our local partner motel close to Go Project Arena, so they could easily walk to training and matches. During this period, our players trained hard, played friendly matches, and gained valuable exposure. Even though we lost several games, many of our boys were noticed by coaches and scouts. Two to three players in particular caught attention and were offered the opportunity to stay longer and potentially join new teams.
Our head coach, Darlington Arikaibe, joined the team one week later and worked actively to build new contacts and partnerships. This effort paid off when one of our players, Ifeanyi, was selected to continue training with Central Academy.Challenges Along the Way
The weeks in Abuja were not easy. The players faced illnesses and injuries, and unfortunately, Ifeanyi’s recovery took longer than expected. When he was ready to return, there were many gaps in communication and unclear schedules, which made the process difficult.
To resolve this, our captain KK, striker Santos, and Coach Darlington returned to Abuja to seek answers and ensure our players could continue with the academy. Their hard work paid off—both KK and Ifeaney were officially selected to join Central Academy’s main team. This was a big step forward for us. At the same time, not everything went as planned. We lost one partnership with an “agent,†and another academy that I had visited in July for a mental coaching class did not include us in their scouting program, which was disappointing. Still, we moved forward.
