Filmmaker Pascal Atuma floats FIFA-licensed sports agency

Barely two months after announcing a partnership with the Katsina State government to develop a football academy, Canadian-Nigerian actor, screenwriter, film producer, and director Pascal Atuma, has founded Tabic Sports Agency.

At a media launch in Lagos on Sunday, Atuma, who is set to release his latest movie, ‘Imported Wives’, said that his Tabic Sports Agency is FIFA-licensed.

Additionally, he said his mission is to ensure that no talent is left behind, with particular emphasis on gifted football players.

Atuma, who also announced that he is now a FIFA-licensed football agent, said the agency’s vision and dream, which took forty-one years to achieve, began when he was schooling at Government College, Umuahia, Abia State.

He said, ” When I was a student at GCU, we had a very organised football team, and I wanted to be a part of the team at all costs because of my love for the game, but I was not gifted enough to make the team. My only option to belong and remain in the soccer arena was to build a long-lasting friendship with some senior players and find a way to hang around them—players like Casimir Mbachu, Okwum Sylvernus, Ekeh Udensi, and others. As students, they also played professional soccer for Golden Guinea Football Club, Umuahia. So I used to travel with them to games as their PA, carrying their bags and ensuring their kits were always intact’’.

Eureka moment

During one of the games at Owerri Township Stadium, the filmmaker said he heard about football agents and managers and their role in football. From that moment, he conceived the dream of representing players worldwide.

‘‘I started nursing the idea of chasing and eventually realised the Tabic Sports Agency. Everything I have done since that day prepared me for today. I attended the FIFA World Cups in Brazil and Russia, the African Cup of Nations in Egypt and Ivory Coast, and the Olympics in France; I became a C-license-trained coach and had the intermediary license before FIFA phased it out. So, every move, everything I have done in the last forty-one years, was geared towards this moment and this height.”

Objective

Atuma said he is committed to ensuring that all gifted football players have the right team of professionals to nurture their talent over time and provide them with all they need to succeed in football.

He said, ‘‘We will deploy our professional competency to ensure that they have successful careers in football, in addition to getting the best out of life. We will help create the next generation of world stars!! Stars like Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Samuel Etoo, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and many more.

‘‘We will provide everything they need to succeed. We will represent and manage players, coaches, clubs, and associations. With partners all over Europe, America, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia, and the rest of the world, we will ensure that our clients receive premium representation and management void of exploitation’’.