The story of talented players from Africa lured with lucrative deals abroad that rather ends up in vain has been told several times.
Countless players have seen their promising football dreams end up in factories as working hands against the use of their feet on the turf.
Some, who have managed to play, are ripped off by self-seeking agents who play on the desperate hopes of the desirous young men to earn a living from the game in Europe and Asia.
To rid the game off such agents, FIFA President, Sepp Blatter has called on the various football associations and clubs in Africa join in the crusade against ‘fake’ football agents.
Describing such agents as ‘false prophets’, Blatter says their existence was one of the most serious problems being confronted by the continent because these bogus agents have over the years succeeded in luring talented young African footballers to Europe with the promise of finding them supposedly lucrative teams and contracts.
The FIFA President who was speaking in Accra on Saturday, Blatter said such moves, apart from its negative effects on the development of football in Africa, could also be described as a form of slavery, hence the need to bring an end to it.
“These supposed prophets on reaching Europe, disappear leaving the players to their fate and so there is the need for the various FA’s and clubs to take active role in curbing this menace.”
And to get the job done, Blatter is counting on African FA's and clubs to help FIFA deal with the situation by providing adequate evidence to track the agents down, adding that his outfit would take a serious look at the problem at its next strategic meeting.
