{"id":895993,"date":"2026-04-01T07:17:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/01\/ronaldos-old-club-step-up-african-talent-hunt-with-scouting-trip-to-nigeria\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T07:17:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:17:17","slug":"ronaldos-old-club-step-up-african-talent-hunt-with-scouting-trip-to-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/01\/ronaldos-old-club-step-up-african-talent-hunt-with-scouting-trip-to-nigeria\/","title":{"rendered":"Ronaldo\u2019s old club step up African talent hunt with scouting trip to Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Photo – Jagaban Cup <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ronaldo Delima’s old club, Cruzeiro have intensified their push into the African market after sending a scouting representative to a youth tournament in Nigeria as part of a broader recruitment strategy, Soccernet.ng<\/a> reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Belo Horizonte club dispatched scout Isaque Silva to monitor the fifth edition of the Jagaban Cup<\/a>, held in Lagos between March 26 and 29.<\/p>\n

Widely regarded as a key talent showcase, the tournament continues to attract scouts from clubs across the globe.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Photo \u2013 Jagaban Cup<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soccer Jagaban Cup continues to produce global talents<\/h2>\n

Eight teams featured in this year\u2019s competition, with Broad City of Lagos emerging as champions. The tournament has built a reputation as a springboard for young African players aiming to break into international football.<\/p>\n

One notable graduate is Uchenna Emmanuel, who now plays for Sparta Prague. The Nigerian defender is among several players who have used the platform to secure moves abroad in recent years.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Photo \u2013 Slavia Praha<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soccer Ronaldo’s old club, others deepen African recruitment drive<\/h2>\n

Cruzeiro\u2019s latest scouting mission is part of a growing trend among Brazilian clubs exploring Africa for emerging talent. The club had previously sent representatives to youth competitions in Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, underlining a consistent effort to tap into the continent.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Photo \u2013 Jagaban Cup<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two Guinean prospects, both born in 2008, also recently trained with the club but did not secure permanent stays.<\/p>\n

Sporting Director Joaquim Pinto has publicly backed the initiative, which shows that Cruzeiro is likely to complete signings from Africa in the near future.<\/p>\n

Other Brazilian sides have already moved in that direction, with clubs like Atl\u00e9tico Mineiro, Palmeiras, S\u00e3o Paulo FC, and Internacional recruiting young players from Guinea, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Ghana, respectively\u2014highlighting a clear shift towards Africa as a key talent pipeline.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Ayomide Oguntimehin” src=”https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/ycGEJDr9VZlpO_5zujn3ZdvICxA=\/150×150\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2024%2F12%2FAyomide-Oguntimehin-pics.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and Chief Editor at Soccernet.ng. He has interviewed Super Eagles stars like William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, and Ademola Lookman, and is known for breaking major transfer stories.<\/p>\n

Ayomide has worked with Sports Brief, Naija News and served as Social Lead Editor at Legit.ng. He has also featured on Goal, TVC News, Sports Mole, and Milan News24. He holds a Master\u2019s degree and is currently pursuing a PhD. Follow Ayomide on X (formerly Twitter): @ayo_oguntimehin\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Ayomide Oguntimehin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Photo – Jagaban Cup Ronaldo Delima’s old club, Cruzeiro have intensified their push into the African market after sending a scouting representative to a youth tournament in Nigeria as part of a broader recruitment strategy, Soccernet.ng reports. The Belo Horizonte club dispatched scout Isaque Silva to monitor the fifth edition of the Jagaban Cup, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":895994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22609,68545,2005],"tags":[6800,68543],"class_list":{"0":"post-895993","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-african","8":"category-ronaldos","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-african","11":"tag-ronaldos"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=895993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/895994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=895993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=895993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=895993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}