History will be made on Tuesday in the Garden City of Port Harcourt as the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare is billed to unveil the Real Madrid Academy in Rivers State.
Rivers State governor, Barrister Nyesom Wike had invited the minister to unveil the institution, which was earlier scheduled last year, but had to be postponed in deference to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Media Office of the minister, the academy will be free to all Rivers State indigenes who will constitute 70 percent of the intakes, while 30 percent would be opened to other states across the country.
The academy is in partnership with Real Madrid Football Club of Spain, and meant to nurture future stars by combining football with academics. It will be open to kids between the ages five to17 years.
Real Madrid FC signed an agreement with the Rivers State Government to provide technical assistance to the academy.
The Real Madrid Football Academy PH was founded in 2019 by the government of Rivers State having been given the Franchise to operate by the Real Madrid Foundation in 2019. The main objective of the academy is to promote football values as a profession in Rivers State and Nigeria.
It is an educational tool geared towards contributing to the comprehensive development of the personality of youths by creating jobs and wealth.
Governor Wike had appointed Barrister Green to oversee and actualize the setting up of the academy.
Prior to this assignment, Green had served as the Chairman of the Technical and Development Committee of the NFF and Chairman of the Rivers State Football Association.