Nigeria’s Edidiong Features In Nordensa’s Fans-Motivated Career Path To Europe For African Football Talents  

In the dynamic world of football, where talent often goes unnoticed, Nordensa emerges as a groundbreaking force, paving the way for young African footballers to shine on the global stage.

In this exclusive interview, Nordensa’s scout, Oliver Schlegl, fields questions from Completesports.com‘s NNAMDI EZEKUTE, explaining the platform’s revolutionary approach to scouting and supporting promising footballers.

As the world’s first fan platform dedicated to discovering and backing young football talent, Nordensa combines the passion of fans with data-driven scouting, offering players like 22-year-old Akwa United forward and former U-23 Eagles player, Edidiong Ezekiel Enobong, a unique opportunity to pursue their dreams in Europe.

Also Read: Football Stakeholders Commit To FIFA’s New Initiatives For Talent Discovery

This interview also explores Nordensa’s collaboration with football agents, its fan-backed crowdfunding model, and the meticulous criteria employed in selecting players.  Schlegl provides valuable insights into Nordensa’s vision, shedding light on the platform’s innovative methods that aim to empower players and fans alike.

As the football world eagerly watches the crowdfunding campaign for Edidiong Ezekiel Enobong, Nordensa stands at the forefront of reshaping the landscape for aspiring talents, offering a beacon of hope and opportunity.

Completesports.com: Briefly tell us about Nordensa and its modus operandi… 

Oliver Schlegl: Nordensa is the world’s first fan platform for discovering and supporting young football talent. Young promising players from around the world are vetted by our team scouts from the Premier League and Bundesliga.

Once selected for backing, fans can support players financially to cover their expenses for a move to Europe; the backers will get the opportunity to earn a total of 8% cut of their salary for the next five years.

It is the first platform to give fans both ownership and a real say in the world of football while giving players from a larger number of countries a much bigger chance of being discovered and making it to Europe.

According to the information you provided, Nordensa currently has a 22-year-old Nigerian rising star,  Edidiong Ezekiel Enobong, and he is hoping to complete a successful crowdfunding campaign to be able to transfer for trials in Europe in January. Tell us more about him and how much that has been raised for him so far. 

Edidiong was scouted after we closely examined several videos and statistics last spring. He is a strong and powerful centre-forward, who is extremely good at holding up possession and controlling and receiving all different types of passes. His first touch regularly sets him up for follow-up action, and he has a great ability to turn quickly, manipulating the opponent by creating a physical barrier between them and the ball. He is also extremely impressive at creating space in congested spaces. Nordensa has raised, for the time being, enough for the entire cost of a trial in Europe.

Also Read: Good Tidings From FIFA For Nigerian Football!  –Odegbami

How does Nordensa’s scouting team identify and evaluate talent, especially in regions like Africa where football talent may be abundant but not always recognized?

Nordensa has a strong network in various African countries. We regularly receive tips about interesting young players and our scouts frequently watch full match videos of some of the U17 and U20 national teams in the continent. In addition to that, Nordensa team members like myself are also travelling to countries like Nigeria for live scouting at tournaments of strong youth teams.

Can you elaborate on the process through which fans can actively participate in supporting players like Edidiong Ezekiel Enobong and contribute to their trials at European football clubs?

Anyone can actively participate in supporting a player. The app can be downloaded via the Apple App Store, Google Play, or accessed via our website. Players who are available for financial support are visible there, with users able to check out a full scouting report and additional details, including video clips. You can choose to buy any amount of shares available for their trial or first-season contract (with up to 900 shares per player) at a cost of €30 each – and if a player on trial ultimately gets signed to a Nordensa partner club, his backers will be entitled to up to 8% his salary for the next five years.

What sets Nordensa apart from traditional scouting methods, and how does the platform address the challenge of the majority of European clubs lacking widespread scouting networks?

Nordensa has a clear plan and method of using data in order to pre-select players that are relevant to the specific positions that clubs are looking to fill. In Africa, there are currently only a few countries (for example Egypt and Morocco) where data providers like Wyscout already have an established presence and can provide quantity and quality data. On the other hand, Nordensa’s aim is to go beyond that and support a wider number of African leagues (including both clubs and academies) with data collection. Data can be collected by streaming game videos in high quality, identifying all players via an electronic team sheet, and then through a process known as “tagging” to measure every action of each player in every match (passes, duels, shots, headers, etc.). With this methodology, Nordensa will be ahead of all European clubs in terms of wider scouting.

Could you provide more details on the criteria used to select players, such as Edidiong Ezekiel Enobong, and why less than 1 in 1000 professional players are chosen to become Nordensa Athletes?

Nordensa’s scouts are looking at the physical, technical, tactical, and mental skills of each player. Young players from Africa are often physically strong. Promising talents are also technically gifted (excellent first touch, strong passing skills, dribbling skills). But one issue we tend to identify is their tactical behaviour on the pitch, not only in ball possession but even more so while not in possession.

Also Read – EXCLUSIVE: Don’t Dismiss Super Eagles’ Chances Of Winning AFCON 2023 —Esin

The style of football played in Europe, when compared to football played in Africa, places more emphasis on tactical behaviour – which often means that young African players have to relearn football almost from scratch when they arrive in Europe. Some highly talented players like Victor Osimhen and Terem Moffi are able to learn quickly and then can profit from their extraordinary physical power which gives them a huge advantage over European defenders. Unfortunately, there are a number of young African players who struggle to adapt to the more tactical aspect of football that European clubs are looking for when signing young talents. So the better the coaching quality in Africa, the higher the chance for more young African players to succeed in Europe.

How does Nordensa ensure the successful transition of players like Edidiong Ezekiel Enobong to Europe, including collaboration with the player’s club, engagement with football fans, and support for the player’s basic needs?

Nordensa is aware of the fact that every player who moves from Africa to Europe, needs time to settle in. Therefore we support every player continuously. This includes the move to Europe, providing all necessary information, and making sure that the new club takes care of all important things (accommodation, documents, wellbeing, introduction to teammates and staff, transportation, etc.). Moreover, Nordensa scouts are preparing regularly short video clips of the player from his matches in Europe and analyse them for the player (with tactical advice).

In addition to this, Nordensa has a Senior Psychologist on board in the form of Luis Meireles, who worked in-house for many years at FC Porto, and is a key part of Nordensa’s team when it comes to supporting the player from a mental health perspective.

In what ways does Nordensa collaborate with football agents and recommend players to continue working with their agents, ensuring a comprehensive approach to player representation and development?

As a former agent myself, I have extensive experience in how to communicate with both players and agents, and I collaborate with both. Respecting the relationship between a player and his agent, and not interfering, is a key part of our process; even if Nordensa is arranging a club in Europe for a player, the agent always remains the agent of the player.