According to Mr. Moses Nwanze, General Manger, Hurricane Events Ltd, the 1st Eleven project is a football reality Television show that is packaged to showcase the best of Nigerian football talents as aspiring, talented and young footballers will be projected.

Nwanze said that Nigeria is blessed with abundant football talents most of whom presently ply their trade in foreign lands and earning huge income in foreign currency hence the need to discover more talents.

He said that the TV reality camping is billed for eight weeks noting that the best sports psychologists and analysts including professional football coaches and managers will be handy to asses the lads.

Commenting on the modalities for participation at the reality show, Nwanze said that football talents will be screened from six zones and 6 participants will emerge from each zone while a total of 36 lads will participate at the reality television camp.

From the final 36 players will emerge the “The 1st Eleven”. Each player will be awarded a cash prize of I million Naira each with an international football exposure.

Currently, ex-international Nigerian footballer and a coach in Holland, Mike Obiku is fully part of the 1st Eleven Project.

On the suitability of football talents to participate at the camp, the event management chief said that the assessment criteria will include participant’s physical and medical fitness, psychological and mental fitness, skills, discipline, team play and interactive abilities etc.

He said that the television camp will adopt an optimum football training techniques and professionalism embellished with entertainment that will elicit the excitement of viewers to achieve the goals of the project.

Nwanze said that the TV reality show will surely provide a veritable platform for brand visibility and positioning for sponsors of the show who may wish to avail themselves of the opportunities presented by the event, the first of its kind.


Kalu Okoronkwo