Football Organiser Goes Spiritual, Urges Gov Sanwo-Olu To Re-open Sports Centres In Lagos

Stakeholders have voiced out their desire to see sports centres and facilities to open in Lagos State.

The government locked down all activities around sports in Nigeria in March this year to curtail the spread of novel Coronavirus pandemic in the country. Few ago weeks the government decided to ease the lockdown in phases in order to keep the country running and also to safeguard the life of the people.

In Lagos, however, stakeholders in sports are anxious to see activities return to sports and they are calling Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to lift the ban on sports activities across the state.

A notable football organiser in Alimosho, Prince Sulaiman Gbadamosi revealed that he was on fasting and prayer sometime ago but all his effort for reopening of football arena in Lagos was futile. Gbadamosi, who could not organise two big football competitions during the lockdown, said he has lost a sponsorship deal with companies and some sport philanthropists during the period of lockdown. Gbadamosi urged Governor of Lagos State to include sports as part of next phase of evaluation and review.

“Football organisers in Lagos don’t have another work than to entertain and organize football competitions for the fans, but in the last four months now, it is a bit tough for me because I have lost two sponsorship deals with companies and sport philanthropists that want to sponsor my competitions. There was a time I was on fasting and prayer over the closure of sport centres but today it seems all my efforts are in futility. I am using this medium to urge our Governor to consider sport industry in the next phase of his evaluation assessment,”he said.

Meanwhile, a member of Alimosho Football Coaches Council, Samuel Nwanorom lamented that he has not been taking his boys for training for the past four months, saying that his players are match rusty for now. The head coach of Citadel Football Club urged Lagos state government to reconsider reopening of sport centres in the next phase of evaluation assessment.

“What government is doing is to contain the spread of this deadly disease, but I think since government has eased the lockdown on some sectors, sports should also be looked into so that our youths would not commit social vices at this period of time,”he said.