Gbenga Elegbeleye, the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) chairman, says the newly introduced Under 17 Youth League would help the country select and prepare players for international tournaments.

Elegbeleye said this on Saturday while speaking to journalists in Benin City, the Edo State capital, during the final of the maiden edition of the youth league.

“The league will serve as a reservoir for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to select a squad for international competitions,” he said.

According to Elegbeleye, the second vice-chairman of the NFF, the league will only focus on young players.

“Where we have an NPFL club, the youth team (U-17) will be like a feeder team to the various clubs.

“When you have the U-15 players, they cannot graduate immediately and be playing for the premier league, so we need them to go through the U-17.

“Plateau United FC is already benefiting. I can spot three of the boys coming into the senior team from the U-17 team; that is the spirit,” Elegbeleye said.

Elegbeleye regretted the country’s failure to qualify for the last U-17 World Cup, saying it was due to poor planning.

He hoped introducing the youth league would remove the lapses that hindered the country from picking the ticket for the last cadet World Cup.

“For instance, we used to be world champions in U-17 football; we have won it four to five times, but unfortunately, we did not qualify for the last event.

“We cannot ask why it was so because we are not planning. We are no longer planning; when we are not planning, we cannot get good results.

“Now, with the introduction of the youth league, we will have players that will be focused,” he said.

Three ex-internationals, Patrick Pascal, Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Seyi Olofinjana, were showcased as ambassadors and role models for the youths in the league.

(NAN)