Chelsea strengthens presence in Africa with new talent management position

The London football club Chelsea has appointed former Nigerian international Seyi Olofinjana to a new talent management position focused on Africa. The 44-year-old Olofinjana, who earned 56 caps for Nigeria, played a total of 147 matches for Wolverhampton Wanderers between 2004 and 2008, scoring 18 goals. Additionally, he played for Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday, both then in the Championship, as well as in the Premier League for Stoke City and Hull City. After his career, which ended in 2014 following a short stint in Norway, Olofinjana worked in youth development and as a loan player manager at Wolves. He later served as Sporting Director at Grasshoppers Zurich in Switzerland for a year. Olofinjana holds a UEFA Pro coaching license. In his new role at Chelsea, Olofinjana will provide recommendations for player scouting across the African continent. This will be done in close collaboration with a newly appointed scout for the region. Olofinjana began his career in Nigeria with Crown FC and Kwara United before moving to SK Brann in Norway in 2003 and then to the Wolves in England a year later. Olofinjana aims to strengthen Chelsea's connections in Africa and pave the way for players to join the London club and its sister organization BlueCo in Strasbourg, France. He will also be responsible for assisting players with their arrival and acclimatization. Besides his sporting qualifications, Olofinjana holds degrees in chemical engineering and sports management. He is also the Executive Director of the Nigerian third-tier club Imperial FC, near his hometown of Lagos, where he oversees an academy and nurtures talents like Taiwo Awoniyi, who moved to Liverpool in 2015 and currently plays for Nottingham Forest. Over the past two decades, many African players such as Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, and Mikel John Obi have achieved great success at Chelsea, although they were mostly recruited after moving to Europe. Establishing this specialized position underscores Chelsea's commitment to discovering talents early in their careers.