LAGOS STATE PARTNERS ABBEY RANGERS ON YOUTH FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT
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The Lagos State Government, through the State Sports Commission, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Abbey Rangers Football Club of the UK on youth football development in the state at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
The partnership is focus on youth developmental football in the state, communities, and schools from a very tender age in life.
Speaking at the signing of the MoU, the Honourable Commissioner for Sport and Youth and Development, Mr. Bolaji Ogunlende said that the project aligned with the THEMES Plus Agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, using sports as a tool for social inclusion and economic empowerment.
He said, “By professionalising the grassroots level, we are providing a viable career path for our youth, keeping them engaged and away from social vices. It is a key pillar of Governor Sanwo-Olu’s vision for a #Greater Lagos.
In the same vein, Director-General, Lagos State Sport Commission (LSSC), Mr. Lekan Fatodu said that the initiative was in fulfilment of the Commission’s mandate which included sports development in the state. The reason why the commission is always at the forefront of concerted developmental sports programme implementation that includes private sector partnership.
“We are always aware of our responsibility, which is focused on sports development. So when we speak about developmental sports, we are talking about sports within the grassroots, within the community, and more importantly, across our schools.
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He continued, “This is the very first time a sub-national in Nigeria will be creating a linkage for sports development within the country with the United Kingdom at the community level. And the reason why we are doing this is to further reinforce our commitment and our dedication in driving structured, more sustainable pathways for our young people to see the world beyond their present space.
‘Locally or internally, we are constantly reaching out to the private sector so that they can be able to drive some of our actions where there seems to be a little bit of movement around it. But we know that we can actually have more or greater impact if we look outside to people who believe that they have solid structure so that we can gain knowledge, facilitate partnership, expose our young people, team, technical personnel, and coaches, to new trends and new development in the world of football.”
According to him, the partnership would focus on Talent Identification and Development; Education and Career Guidance; Coaching and Technical Capacity Building; Sports Science and Performance Support; Community Engagement and Grassroots, Policy Advisory and System Development.
Mr. Nick Riley, Chairman of Abbey Rangers Football Club, said the partnership would help build part of a new legacy in Lagos and in Nigeria, that would last for generations. He said it would talso ake an enormous amount of work, maintaining however that the organisation was up for the challenge and really looking forward to working with the honourable team of the Commission.
He further revealed that part of the roadmap would include discussing exchange programmes, stressing that it was not just about them bringing knowledge here, but also about giving the most promising talents the opportunity to experience the environment in the UK firsthand. “We want to expose them to the facilities, the different playing styles, and the professional discipline required at that level. It’s a two-way street”.
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