Kelechi Nwakali’s former club ASJ Football academy of Owerri have cried foul at the attitude of Premier league club Arsenal whom they claim lied and deceived them from making a Training Compensation claim in 2016 when Nwakali joined the Gunners after winning the Golden Boot at the FIFA U17 Championship in 2015.
According to Mr. Emeka Amajiriaku the General Manager of the team, after Nwakali’s transfer in 2016 they approached Arsenal for training and solidarity compensation due them but Arsenal lied to them that they were not entitled to Training compensation but paid them only solidarity compensation.
‘We trusted them and believed them we did not know that they were deliberately deceiving us. When we found out last year they lied to us again that they paid Diamond Football Academy 10,000 US Dollars as Training Compensation, an amount equivalent to a sum representing the years of registration that Kelechi was playing for The ASJ Academy. They then offered us a miserly 5000 USD ‘in full and final settlement that would close this matter to the satisfaction of both parties.’
‘Of course this offer was unacceptable and outrightly rejected. ASJ Academy trained Kelechi from the years of his 12-17th birthday, which, by the FIFA Training Costs and Categorisation of clubs amounts to 220, 000 EUR and we demanded our full payment. Arsenal then said they won’t pay, that the transfer happened more than two years ago and so is statute barred.
“We reminded them that we approached them on time and they deceived us but they didn’t say anything again. Our lawyer, Barrister Johnny Ogbah of Activity Chambers has already reported them to The English FA but we will not stop there. We will explore all legal avenues to get justice.
“It is unfair that a big club like Arsenal could stoop so low as to lie and deceive a small club like us but I’m confident we will get justice in the case,’ he concluded.
