The chairman of the FCT Football Association, Adam Muktar Mohammed, has commended the Belgium embassy in Nigeria on its recent initiative to curb the menace of player trafficking around the world.
Muktar Mohammed was a special guest when the embassy screened a documentary titled ‘Sidelines’ in Abuja last week.
The documentary is on the lives of mainly Nigerian players who troop to Europe in pursuit of their footballing dreams.
“This is a most laudable initiative as it goes a long way in educating young, aspiring footballers about the realities of embarking on a football journey to Europe and it’s challenges,” the FCT football boss told SCORENigeria
“As always a movie documentary is an apt way to get the message across in a sublime way. It will surely go a long way in impacting on their thought process and they will spread the word!
“Personally, I like the film approach as it attempts to get into the minds of these club owners, players, coaches, their families, perhaps it even challenges the foreign clubs as to the way and manner players come to them.
“We need more of such going forward to curb this menace of human trafficking and exploitation.”
Mouktar Mohammed also proffered the need for proper controls to overcome this problem.
“My candid advice is that only fit and proper people should be the ones involved in such sensitive type of business that involves lives of people. We cannot get it wrong,” he offered.
“Globally, human trafficking and exploitation is very much a major issue.
“We need a multi-dimensional approach to find lasting solutions being a demand and supply chain
“It’s a very complicated scenario that needs an intelligent approach and a smart solution.”
Former international goalkeeper Peter Rufai, chairperson of Nigerians in diaspora commission Abike Dabiri, NGOs, government organisations and the diplomatic community attended the screening of ‘Sideline’.
