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N-Youth League Cup: Bringing Global Visibility to Nigeria’s Next Generation with Wyscout

09 Jan, 2025

7 Min Read

By Tom Robinson

Discover how the N‑Youth League Cup leverages Wyscout to promote their players on the global stage and tackle traditional scouting and recruitment challenges.

Take a look around the top football leagues in the world and you’ll often see Nigerian players making an impact at the very highest level.

From Victor Boniface at current Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, to Premier League regulars like Ola Aina, Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey, the talent is there for all to see.

The recent 2024 African Footballer of the Year awards only strengthens this claim. Ademola Lookman, hat-trick hero of Atalanta’s Europa League win, became the second consecutive Nigerian to win the top male prize, following in Victor Osimhen’s footsteps.

Nigeria were also awarded the best Women’s National Team, while Chiamaka Nnadozie picked up the gong for best female goalkeeper on the continent.

But for a country with such a deep talent pool, there has often been a lack of visibility for young domestically-based players, making effective scouting and recruitment difficult.

Looking to address that lack of global visibility is the N-Youth League Cup, which aims to provide up-and-coming Nigerian players with a stage to showcase their abilities to a wider audience.

“We want the N-Youth League Cup to be a place for the present and for the future recruitment of players in Nigeria, and for it to become a premier platform for elite youth football,” states N-Youth League Cup President, Robinson Adakosa.

“We want to bridge the gaps between amateurism to professionalism, helping to transform lives, communities, and make a real and lasting impact in society through these opportunities.”

The N-Youth League Cup is a nationwide competition, featuring U19 teams from across Nigeria. Divided into north and south conferences, it runs from September to April and provides young players access to consistent, high-level competition, supported by video and data.

11 of the 23 teams involved come from clubs who ply their trade in the Nigeria Premier Football League - the highest division in the country - with big clubs like Enyimba, Kano Pillars and Rivers United all represented, adding prestige and competitiveness.

“This is the first and only nationally organised and NFF-sanctioned youth league in the country,” says Adakosa. “From 700 application requests, we have the best Nigerian clubs and academies, with cutting-edge technologies and equipment.”

“It's conducted on a home and away basis. So you have teams traveling far to come play in your own home, and you also have to travel back as well to play away games. They cannot be comfortable with teams just within their state and their city. So we want to bring this kind of nationwide experience to them.”

Speaking about the many obstacles that youth players in Nigeria face, Adakosa explains that a lack of exposure is key barrier to advancing promising careers:

“I spoke to a lot of stakeholders at summits and conferences, and I kept asking the question; why is it that the African players, and particularly Nigerian players, don’t actually go for transfer fees or don’t get transferred at all? And they all came down to one basic point: visibility.”

“I think Nigeria has an abundance of talent,” he asserts. “We had the highest valued squad at the African Cup of Nations and Nigeria has a young demographic, with 70% of a 220 million population under the age of 30, so it is a huge untapped talent pool which creates valuable footballers. It’s just not being seen and developed.”

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To address this issue, N-Youth League Cup have turned to Wyscout to showcase their young prospects to a global audience and open up opportunities that can further their budding careers.

“Everybody knows, Wyscout is the largest video and data library, and that means you have a wider reach.” Adakosa says. “You are actually reaching the right people that you need to reach, or that would have been difficult to reach.

“So it's like a large community where you have all the necessary ingredients, for you to transact your business. I think working with Wyscout is the best thing that we’ve done.”

Given the time and cost involved in scouts travelling to Nigeria in person, Wyscout also ensures that clubs and agencies can save resources and dedicate more time to in-depth analysis of video and data of prospective signings over a larger sample of N-Youth League Cup games.

This gives a truer representation of a player’s abilities — as opposed to typically a 20-minute window of opportunity on the ground, for example – and allows recruiters to make better data-driven decisions for their transfer strategy.

"We want the N-Youth League Cup to be a place for the present and for the future recruitment of players in Nigeria." Robinson Adakosa - President, N-Youth League Cup

A lack of reliable, trustworthy data has traditionally been a stumbling block for many Nigerian players looking to get noticed and evaluated by scouts.

“In the past, when you tried to compare Nigerian or African players to, for example, South Americans, you couldn't do it effectively because you don't have data,” says Adakosa. “You don't have data for them to analyze these players, no video analysis, no data or any competitive youth league.

“It's imperative to use video and data in the recruiting process,” he continues. “As such, it's very important to have trust that whatever information you get is very reliable to make important decisions.”

“I was amazed when I saw Wyscout actually, what the reports actually look like; very detailed reports that show in-depth stats, extensive analysis of videos, and every aspect of the play, the teams, and also the players.”

By having consistent, in-depth Wyscout video and data, scouts and agents can make objective, informed recruitment decisions and also means player performances can be compared and contrasted with other leagues using the same metrics to help determine suitability for potential transfers.

The trust works both ways, as N-Youth League Cup becomes synonymous with accurate video and stats related to their players, encouraging clubs and agencies to look towards their stable of talent when looking for the next young star.

"Wyscout is a trusted brand. People rely on the quality and the accuracy of the video and data they provide." Robinson Adakosa - President, N-Youth League Cup

Adakosa hopes the trust and visibility that Wyscout provides will also tackle the exploitation of players and lack of adequate financial compensation for academies:

“Over time, we are developing these players, spending so much money taking them abroad to participate in national events, competitions,” he explains.

“And at the end of the day, you have players being approached by clubs. And many times, asking players to join as free agents. So they're ripping players from the academy that trained these players without any financial benefits for them, for training these players and for the transfers.”

Player transfers are a crucial element for the league's sustainability. They generate revenue for clubs, motivate players by providing financial rewards, and boost stakeholders' confidence in the league's potential. Agreements with participating clubs ensure a percentage of transfer revenues is allocated to sustain the league.

Additionally, the league facilitates logistical and financial support for clubs, covering transportation and match indemnities. Successful player transfers also improve technology and infrastructure, creating a positive feedback loop for the league's growth and development.

N-Youth League Cup’s commitment to development is reinforced by their mid-season Invitational Talents Showcase, which brings 60 of the league’s best players together during the January break to play competitively and promote themselves and the league, either through remote platforms like Wyscout or in person scouting, ensuring top-tier talent gets visibility.

Furthermore, N-Youth League Cup are leveraging Hudl technology to ensure they capture high quality footage to optimize their player development and video analysis.

Using Focus Outdoor and Focus Flex - Hudl’s portable football camera - they are able to automate the filming process, freeing themselves up to spend more time on coaching and analysis.

“We’re a technology-driven league,” says Adakosa. “It's one of a kind camera that's never been used in Africa. So this, for us, is a pride that we are the first to have this kind of camera.”

“Video analysis from the camera footage helps them to improve, to perform better, look at their mistakes and correct them, and also to help them in developing better. So in this way, they'll be ready to take the next level of their life, in their professional career.”