Identification of Top African talents (An Informed Article)...

[Enugu II]

An expert’s guide to African sport – part seven: Talent identification
https://www.sportspro.com/insights/feat ... a-nfl-pfl/ Please note that I have substantively abridged this important article. I posted it here because it seems that many are falsely believing that the best talents from Africas are accurately selected by the leagues in Europe. That is not the case. As this article points out, top and credible talent from East Africa are being left out. In West Africa, not all top talents are accurately selected and I have noted this several times already. The accurate identification of talents is far more challenging and misunderstood by several CE members. However, I do not assume that talent identification will ever be 100%. That is just not a possibility as you may already know. In no sport is talent identification perfect but in football/soccer (as per Africa) this is especially an issue based on variables that I have mentioned multiple times. Talent identification in Africa is not even close to identification of European talent


In the final instalment of the series, Nigeria-based sports executive James Torvaney explores the sporting talent landscape in Africa, covering everything from academies and youth development programmes to scouting tech.
12 June 2024 James Torvaney
Features


It’s been hard to ignore the increased presence of African athletes in top-level sports in recent decades.

In 1992, English soccer’s Premier League featured just three African players in Bruce Grobbelaar, Peter Ndlovu, and George Ndah. By 2023, this number had grown to more than 50. It would be even higher if including African-eligible players who opted to play for European nations, such as Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, and Carney Chukwuemeka.

In total, over 500 African players play in Europe’s top ten soccer divisions – around six per cent of the total playing base.

The number of African soccer players has increased dramatically since the inauguration of the Premier League

There are similar trends across the Atlantic. Over 60 current National Basketball Association (NBA) players, and more than 130 National Football League (NFL) players, are either born in Africa or born to African parents.

Recent Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) belt holders include African fighters Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou. Both the men’s and women’s marathon world record holders are African, as well as the holders of the men’s Rugby World Cup.

Super Bowl winner Prince Tega Wanogho flies the Nigerian flag. Wanogho was born in Delta State, Nigeria, before moving to Alabama aged 16 in the hope of playing professional basketball

But whilst the playing base in most top-level sports has become increasingly African, direct investment into talent identification and development on the continent remains low compared to its global peers. Many both in and outside Africa see this as a huge untapped opportunity.

The prolific soccer academies of West Africa
The majority of professional African footballers playing in Europe hail from West Africa. This is where most of the focus on identifying talent has been.

West Africa accounts for around two-thirds of all professional Africans playing professional soccer in Europe

Youth soccer in Africa is notoriously opaque and logistically challenging. Most parties looking for talent in the region work with networks of on-ground scouts and academies, often working via intermediaries. Certain individuals hold huge power over the talent markets of whole countries or regions, which can make it particularly difficult for outsiders to enter the market. Relationships are everything.

Work permits, cultural adjustments and playing standards make jumps directly from African leagues to the Premier League or LaLiga rare, and instead there are a number of well-trodden paths for players to transfer to second-tier leagues such as those in France or Belgium.

France, Belgium and Turkey are among the most popular entry points to Europe for young African players aiming to reach the upper echelons of professional soccer

There are several academies with track records for consistently identifying soccer talent. Generation Foot, for example, is a Senegalese academy that has helped unearth the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Ismaila Sarr, and Sadio Mane. The academy has a partnership with Ligue 1’s FX Metz. According to transfermarkt, over 70 per cent of the value of Metz’s playing squad value comes from African players.

JMG Academy was founded in Abidjan in 1993 and counts many of Côte d’Ivoire’s ‘golden generation’ amongst its alumni, including Kolo and Yaya Toure, Solomon Kalou, Emmanuel Eboue, and Gervinho. The group has since expanded with academies in Mali, Ghana, Egypt, Algeria, Madagascar, Vietnam, Thailand, and Belgium.

[YUJAM]

This is a big business in the subregion that requires more in-depth reporting. There are two world class academies in Senegal, Gen Foot (sponsored by Metz), Diambarr (Patrick Viera is behind this one) and another one owned by Salif Diao. I've seen Gen Foot in Saly. It and Diambarr are top class facilities that produced the likes of Gana, Mane and Lamine Camara. FWIW, Koulibally is essentially French. He was born and raised there. Gambia has one that is sponsored by Bayern.

For some reason, these folks are building academies in W Africa as opposed to other parts

[Enugu II]

This is a big business in the subregion that requires more in-depth reporting. There are two world class academies in Senegal, Gen Foot (sponsored by Metz), Diambarr (Patrick Viera is behind this one) and another one owned by Salif Diao. I've seen Gen Foot in Saly. It and Diambarr are top class facilities that produced the likes of Gana, Mane and Lamine Camara. FWIW, Koulibally is essentially French. He was born and raised there. Gambia has one that is sponsored by Bayern.

For some reason, these folks are building academies in W Africa as opposed to other parts

Yujam,

I think it is a cost/benefit calculation but it is missing a whole lot of talented kids elsewhere. Even in places where these academies exist, lots of talented players are missed. However, given the way talents emerge and ebb, they will be missed because talent spotting methods are not anywhere near perfect. Think about how much the NBA and NFL in the USA miss talents and accurate rating of such talents inspite if all data currently accessible.

[txj]

This is a big business in the subregion that requires more in-depth reporting. There are two world class academies in Senegal, Gen Foot (sponsored by Metz), Diambarr (Patrick Viera is behind this one) and another one owned by Salif Diao. I've seen Gen Foot in Saly. It and Diambarr are top class facilities that produced the likes of Gana, Mane and Lamine Camara. FWIW, Koulibally is essentially French. He was born and raised there. Gambia has one that is sponsored by Bayern.

For some reason, these folks are building academies in W Africa as opposed to other parts

There is an in-depth reporting on this in The Athletic. Biggest issue on the marketing side being access to the major talent portals.
You missed out CSK in Mali and Kadji Sports, belonging to Keita and Eto...both with close ties to La Masia

[joao]

Talents can be found anywhere. It is the molding of individual talents into thinking 'TEAM first'
in a sport like football that counts. Even when an individual talent is spotted, one needs to consider this
fits into the other components of the team. If this or other players cannot be coached to synchronize their
focus and mental discipline to execute, talents could be wasted.

Someone once raised the question on what would have happened to a talent like Messi if he had gone to
the EPL earlier on in his career, and if he would have been as successful. Also when one looks at a player
like N'Golo Kante, what he brings to every team he played on is the focus and discipline to contribute to
the team agenda is a way not readily considered by many when thinking about talent.

In short, in team sports the best talent to have is to be able to think TEAM first instead of self-flattery.

[akamoke]

Talents can be found anywhere. It is the molding of individual talents into thinking 'TEAM first'
in a sport like football that counts. Even when an individual talent is spotted, one needs to consider this
fits into the other components of the team. If this or other players cannot be coached to synchronize their
focus and mental discipline to execute, talents could be wasted.

Someone once raised the question on what would have happened to a talent like Messi if he had gone to
the EPL earlier on in his career, and if he would have been as successful. Also when one looks at a player
like N'Golo Kante, what he brings to every team he played on is the focus and discipline to contribute to
the team agenda is a way not readily considered by many when thinking about talent.

In short, in team sports the best talent to have is to be able to think TEAM first instead of self-flattery.

Spot on, well said sir , especially on the last sentence
This teamwork mentallity is what is drummed into kids at an early age, I visited a friend whose son was playing at an academy in Lyon last week for teenagers, and you could hear the coach reprimanding a player in training for dribbling instead of looking for the overlapping players to release the ball to, it was basic but the coach was ballistic and made the guy do 50 "suicides" as punishment.