Brown Ideye, former Super Eagles striker and 2013 AFCON champion, has been appointed Director of Player Pathways and Partnerships at Atlantic Business FC.
Ideye’s appointment positions the club to build a structured pipeline for grooming and monetising young footballers. Drawing from his international playing experience across Europe and Asia, Ideye is expected to oversee a comprehensive youth-to-professional programme that identifies, trains, and exposes talent for international opportunities.
Atlantic Business FC, based in Lagos and competing in Nigeria’s Nationwide League, already boasts of producing Chinedu Umeh, who scored 65 goals in 120 games before transferring to Finland’s SJK.
With Ideye now in charge of the club’s player development pathway, ABFC is poised to scale its talent export strategy. His role will involve establishing scouting networks, refining training methods, and leading partnerships that can funnel players into European and Asian clubs.
Beyond on-pitch value, Ideye’s presence elevates the club’s brand equity. His profile adds credibility to the academy, attracting higher-quality youth prospects and enabling the club to negotiate stronger commercial deals. Academy naming rights, sponsorships, and strategic collaborations with global football academies become more viable with a recognised football figure at the helm.
Ghana’s Right to Dream and Senegal’s Génération Foot have demonstrated how structured development models can yield recurring revenue through player transfers, training compensation, solidarity payments, and loan fees. Ideye’s task will be to adapt these models to Nigeria’s landscape using his network and insight to formalise a monetisable player development ecosystem.
In the long term, a successful player pathway programme could improve ABFC’s competitiveness. As talent development deepens and successful transfers multiply, the club becomes a more attractive investment target and strengthens its case for promotion to the Nigeria Premier League, unlocking access to broadcast deals and elite competitions.
