TopSpot organizes FootCoop for the second time in downtown Oulu. Last year we had a great time and I am sure that is the case also this February. (Article about last year’s event here: http://www.topspot.fi/?p=2082).

This year’s event’s admission is FREE, but the amount of participants is limited to 100 people. So you have to be fast to sign up!

FootCoop 2013 has an interesting list of speakers from all around the world:

• Troy Pugmire – Digital Marketing Strategies in the Sports Marketplace
• Heikki Leskelä – CASE: Bluebiit.com – Sport Sponsorship is a Strategic Investment!
• Lauri Salovaara – Life of a Sports Start-Up CASE: Filmme.tv
• Christian Thibault – Benefits of Grassroot Level Sponsorship – Grassroot Funds & Sportti Suomi -Concepts
• Robert Söderdahl – CASE: PAF – Sponsoring La Liga
• Risto Rasku – Sports Business Intelligence – Managing the Synergy of Business, Research and Education in Sports
• Tom Markham – Football Finances: “When is the Right Time to Sack the Manager?”

For more information about the speakers & seminar schedule and place and to register you have to go to our website at:
http://www.footcoop.info/home/seminar

Or go directly to the registration system at:
http://www.interestid.com/welcome/default/event_basics/23

You can register by using your LinkedIn-account or typing in your email-address and your first and last name to the fields. The system will create you a profile which can be used in networking purposes before, during and after the event. You can fill and edit your profile once registered, add your picture and see who else is coming!

See you at FootCoop 2013!

The preparation for the new season for RoPS, Rovaniemi, was difficult as they had been relegated from Veikkausliiga and publicly humiliated by the match fixing scandal which saw seven of their former Zambian players jailed and prosecuted. Local people felt they had been betrayed and sponsors and supporters alike had serious doubts regarding the future of the club.

All this history didn’t make it easy for TopSpot’s three Nigerian born players to start their campaign to promote African football in the city of Santa Claus at the Artic Circle.

The Mission

To win the hearts of the local people and also some people inside the club together with Alison Ndukaku (Central Defender), Faith Friday Obilor (Central Defender) and Mbachu Uchenna Emenike (Left Winger) we agreed on a common plan, a mission. We wanted to show the people of Rovaniemi that these African players are to be remembered from their good character, dedication, commitment and honesty towards the club, the sponsors and the supporters.

The pre-season matches in March and April didn’t go so well as hoped for and already after few bad results there were whispers behind the tribunes and on the online forums about the integrity of RoPS’s new Nigerian players. It was sort of understandable because of the history of the recent years. It is part of human nature to categorize and label things and therefore regular supporters were asking what made these African players any different than the others that had betrayed the club and the supporters one year ago? However, players are all individuals and what happened in the past had nothing to do with Nduka, Faith nor Emenike, but in a way the players had been labeled as guilty until they started to prove themselves innocent. But that had to be dealt with on the pitch, in the action against the opponents.

The Season

It was not just the African players that had something to prove. The whole team faced the same situation. This was the year that they had to show that they were worthy in the eyes of the people.

The path to win the local people over started with a 1-0 victory against AC Oulu. Emenike scored the winning goal and Alison and Faith secured clean sheets with the help of their magnificent goalkeeper Mikko Vilmunen. And this was the beginning of the new era that washed away the trouble in the past!

RoPS went on playing very effective football the whole rest of the season. The midfield maestros Tuomo Könönen (C), Jose Rivera, Ebrima Sohna and Victor Turcios made the game easier for the players in defense and in attack. RoPS conceded only 9 goals until they secured their promotion 6 rounds before the end of the season on 25th of August 2012. Their attacking duo Mika Lahtinen and Aleksandr Kokko had scored nearly 30 goals helped by Emenike who had scored himself 6 and assisted 16 of the goals.

RoPS collected 59 points in the league and won the whole competition with a massive margin. The supporters had found their way back to the stands and press was praising the whole team for their effort.

After securing the promotion Faith Friday was loaned to Veikkausliiga, to FC Inter in Turku. He has a chance to win the Finnish Championship with the team and he is already considered as the best central defender in Finland, not just in 1st division.

Aftermath

Next season will be another huge challenge for the team. RoPS has not been able to secure their place in the top flight during the recent years, but has been considered more or less what we call here “an elevator team”. All our Nigerian players have contracts until end of the next season, which means that RoPS and their supporters can rely on having dedicated, committed and honest African players who give everything for the club on and off the pitch. Mission accomplished!

Norway:

Toni Lindberg -> Alta IF, Norway L2 (from Mash’Al Mubarek, Uzbekistan L1)

Ville Taulo -> Alta IF, Norway L2  (from FC Lahti, Finland L1)

Manu Hervas -> Valdres FK, Norway L3 (from Zalaegerszeg FC, Hungary L1)

Alonso Sanchez -> Valdres FK, Norway L3 (from Gandia CF, Spain L3)

Finland:

Richard Edwards -> Mikkelin Palloilijat, Finland L3 (from Harbour View, Jamaica L1)

Faith Friday -> FC Inter Turku (loan), Finland L1 (from RoPS, Finland L2)

Jeffrey Imudia -> Mikkelin Palloilijat, Finland L3 (from Forest Green Rovers, UK L5)

Steven Irwin -> FF Jaro, Finland L1 (from SC Telstar, Holland L2)

Sherif Ashraf -> FF Jaro (loan), Finland L1 (from HJK, Finland L1)

Xxxxxx Xxxxx -> XXXX, Finland L1 (from Kalmar FF, Sweden L1)

Abdulai “Arata” Conteh -> FC Santa Claus, Finland L3 (from Banbury United, Sierra Leone L2)

During the last few days we have received a number of phone calls from many of our clients and partners in Finland. They have been wondering if we are behind the 8 Nigerian players that Finnish second tier club OPS-jp announced they have signed.

To avoid further misunderstandings and the spreading of false information we want to make it clear that neither TopSpot Ltd or our FIFA Agent Marko Saranlinna have nothing to do with these particular players nor with OPS-jp.

The OPS-jp signings have attracted a lot of negative attention in the Finnish media and the Finnish football community. The integration of eight new players with just two months left in the season would be a challenge for any club, never mind one in the second tier of Finnish football dealing with players adjusting to a new culture on and off the pitch. This kind of transfer activity is not something TopSpot Ltd supports, is involved in or wants to be associated with.

TopSpot Ltd has been working in Nigeria and nearby countries since 2007 and our aim is to assist clubs in finding talented players that have the potential to adapt and succeed in a new environment, and to find the right clubs for our players.

Preparation is key

This ethos applies to our work in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Far East: whatever a player’s background, we always aim to ensure he is adequately prepared before he signs for a new club.

This involves assessing a player’s strengths and weaknesses, his personality and his mental strength. The TopSpot Talent Tournaments, organised in many states in Nigeria and now well-known in the country, are a good forum to help scouts. We offer support, coaching and guidance in every area, and often we will work with a player for many months before he signs for a new club.

We are also there to help smoothe out any problems in the acclimatisation process once he arrives. In Finland the culture shock can be big, and we are prepared for most hiccups and problems that can occur for an African player within his new club and in everyday life.

Recognised expertise

Our successes have helped their new clubs achieve great things. Ebrima Sohna, Dominic Chatto, Victor Turcios, Paul Obifuele, Dickson Nwakaeme, Faith Friday and more have been our clients and become firm favourites at their new clubs.

Of course there are also failed transfers, that is a fact even when teams recruit from within Finland. But we are proud of our record of minimising the risks involved for all concerned. We are also proud that Finnish players now recognise our expertise, and we have also helped an increasing number of Finnish players to move to new clubs in a different culture.

This involves a huge amount of work and professional skill. It may be that OPS-jp has an extensive backroom staff to minimise the risks involved in a cross-cultural transfer, similar to the team we have working across four continents. We do not know. We can say for sure that we are not working with OPS-jp on their strategy.

TopSpot in Africa

TopSpot has a long history of working with African players. Our organization’s goal is to start the adaptation process towards a deeper professionalism and cultural understanding in Africa, before players leave.

We take responsibility for the whole journey the players make from the grass root level, when they are scouted and selected to join our program, all the way to being a professional footballer outside Africa. We will be there to help and guide them along the way.

The same experience we have gained working with African and other players from different culture over the years is invaluable to our clients on the club side. We are happy to share our knowledge and improve the success rate of their international recruitment.

TopSpot Team

Further information: Mikko Perälä, CEO of TopSpot Ltd. +358 40 7453749

Tamas “Grubo” Gruborovics scored a hat-trick that forced FK Zeta from Montenegro to face their first defeat in their Euro-journey this year. Tamas scored twice in the opening half and “nailed the last nail to the coffin”, as Finnish proverb so figuratively puts, in the beginning of the second half.

JJK is now favorites to go through to the third round in the UEFA’s Europe League. They only need a draw in the next match to go through and face Levski Sofia from Bulgaria who took a clear 3-0 victory in their own first leg match against FK Sarajevo.

Paul Obiefule’s KuPS clinched a surprise victory in Israel against Maccabi Netanya. Last season the Israeli team finished 4th in the relatively tough league where the biggest teams are not shy in spending money on players. KuPS’s victory is certainly a thing to remember as club’s euro-history isn’t that glorious. Paul Obiefule starred in the main role in KuPS’s midfield while young Aleksi Paananen took care of the goal scoring department bagging away two nice goals.

Another TopSpot’s player who is looking to continue Europe League scoring streak is MyPa’s Olajide Williams. He made the important away goal for his team in the first leg match against FC Rapid Bucharest. 2-0 victory in the second leg would secure their place in the next round’s clash against

It is an exciting week ahead of us! Let’s hope all Finnish teams qualify to the next round!

TopSpot’s Mika Lönnström has spent the recent months in Roi Et province in Eastern Thailand setting up facilities and organization for full scale youth academy together with Roi Et United FC staff and management. Mika, who holds a UEFA Pro Coaching License, is still in the beginning of his work, but already results can be seen.

“We are setting up the office for the academy and getting ready to start the first football schools for the local kids”, says Mika and continues: “Within 6 months time period we are planning to build an artificial turf just for the academy purposes. That will be excellent as the weather conditions can be rough during the rainy season and the natural grass pitches can convert into mud-pits over night.”

Academy will take in, accommodate, feed, educate and train up two groups of 20 boys. Other group will be between ages of 16-17 and the players of the younger group from 14 to 15 year old. The academy will be for the boys only in the beginning, but the football schools targeted for younger children will also take in girls. And who knows; maybe one day there will be a academy group for the girls too!

The football schools will be organized in partnership with the local schools from the province. The president of Roi Et United FC is very excited about the ongoing work: “I am excited to see the effect and impact we are going to have on our community. I think we are setting a prime example what a sports club can do for its’ community.”

Mika Lönnström will continue his work in Roi Et and he is very happy about the career decision he made: “Sometimes you just have to be bold enough to take a step away from the routines and old circles. In Finland many people are in so-called comfortzone and are never able to leave it. But challenging yourself every day is the only way of progressing and developing. I recommend taking a step towards unknown for everybody!”

TopSpot’s involvement and investment will increase as the time goes on. Also some of the most talented TopSpot’s Nigerian academy players will be able to change to Thailand’s more peaceful environment later on when everything is ready.

A very interesting project indeed! Keep on pushing, Mika!

Faith Friday Obilor has played a strong season so far. His current club RoPS from Rovaniemi, Finland has played 11 games in Finnish 2nd league called Ykkönen and remains still undefeated.

Finnish sports magazine Urheilulehti rated him as the best player in the league and commented that “it is a shame we don’t see Faith Friday playing in Veikkausliiga“.

Faith was training last autumn one week with both Norwegian top club Tromsö IL and Swedish Allsvenskan club Mjällby IF. Both clubs were ready to hear more of him and in other circumstances his move might have happened already then.

Faith is just one example of the large number of quality players TopSpot is able to scout and train in Nigeria. TopSpot Talent Tournaments where also Faith was discovered few years ago have raised a lot of interest within the club network in Scandinavia. Next tournament will be held in the end of September 2012.

Olajide Williams came back with a flash as he joined MyPa on a one year deal in the beginning of June. He has now played 225 minutes, appearing in 5 matches and scored twice; once against FC Inter and once again HJK. Both Inter and HJK being the two most strongest sides in this year’s league.

Here is a video link to Jide’s last goal against HJK yesterday (actions starts from 4:00):  http://yle.fi/uutiset/watch_our_latest_tv_broadcast/6086639

After scoring 10 goals last season in official games and appearing in Europa League action with KuPS, from Kuopio one would have thought that it is relatively easy to secure a new contract, but in the world of football nothing is for certain. Many clubs were interested, but smaller budgets and time consuming work permit processes from Nigeria were preventing Jide to take the next step in his career.

Luckily MyPa, whose first third of the season has been excellent, wanted to see Jide in red and white colors, smashing goals for Anjalankoski’s pride in Veikkausliiga. And as a cherry on the top MyPa qualified for Europa League from Uefa’s fair play competition.

They will be facing Welsh amateur side Cefn Druids in the first round. The first leg will be played on 5th of July.

Victor Turcios was the first player from El Salvador’s national team that TopSpot introduced to European football. We are happy to announce two new signings from “La Selecta”;

Dennis Alas and Nelson Bonilla signed for TopSpot earlier this week. The national team players both expressed their will to move abroad from their beloved home country. Both have had interest from USA, but they prefer Europe as a first choice. Dennis Alas who is the current captain of the La Selecta played back in 2008 in USA on loan. He is known from his fierce shots and his endurance in the midfield seems to be never-ending. He is a hard-tackling box-to-box midfielder with most caps (63) for the El Salvador national team. In El Salvador he wears the colors of C.D Luis Angel Firpo, which is one of the biggest teams in the country

Nelson Bonilla has recently broken into the national team and he already scored against Moldova in a friendly match in May 2012. He is a young forward with good pace and finishing skills, both with feet and head. He plays for Alianza FC and scored 7 goals during his first season in the league.

Adriel Gabilan, who is TopSpot’s South and Central America representative and currently in El Salvador, states that both players are capable of playing in Europe on a high level and that he is excited to see them coming over.

“Probably a good way to introduce them to European football is a short term move of five to six months to some Scandinavian club as now there is summer and not much snow”, Adriel Gabilan says and laughs.

We welcome both players wholeheartedly to our TopSpot family!

TopSpot’s Tamas Gruborovics was chosen as the player of the month in May in Finnish Veikkausliiga. Tamas has started his season with hefty 7 goals in 10 matches and also assisted few of JJK‘s goals.

Last season Tamas scored 16 goals in 30 games being the 2nd best goal scorer of the league after Inter Turku’s striker Timo Furuholm who moved to German Bundesliga side Fortuna Duesseldorf after the season.

If he continues his goal scoring streak he will be breaking records this season. He also has a great opportunity to showcase his talent in Europa League qualifications where JJK will be playing for the first time in their history.