Lagos Opens Engagement With America Football Icons For Youth And Talent Development

As part of the activities of the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC) to discover and nurture talents, the Director General of the Commission, Lekan Fatodu says a lot of opportunities are abound in the state with the right infrastructure, expertise and collaboration with the critical stakeholders for a well-rounded development of budding stars.

He made the statement while playing host to the duo of international American Football players, Odafe Oweh and Jesse Luketa, Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade & Investment, Folashade Ambrose – Medebem, and the Permanent Secretary, Olugbemiga Ayoola Aina, at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

The programme tagged “Pep Talk,Meet and Greet with Members of American Football League” to inspire young people, gain knowledge of diverse sporting interests of the youths, and give thoughts on how such passionate can be effectively nurtured from the standpoint of the NFL experiences and also intimate the young people about NFL and the opportunities therein for many young Nigerians.

The event went beyond inspiring the next generation; it also provided an avenue for the management of the Lagos State Sports Commission to engage with crucial stakeholders.

Fatodu described Lagos as a hub for sports development and the presence of the NFL players is to look into the opportunities of expanding the sporting activities and engagements.

“They have seen something unique in Nigeria, Africa and particularly in Lagos State, and they thought it is important to have an engagement with us.

“It’s actually gratifying and exciting that they have chosen Lagos for this kind of pilot engagement and interaction”.

The LSSC boss reiterated that “the essence of sports for development is to capture the interrelationship between education and sports and some of the things we do is effective engagement with our Directorate of School Sports to ensure that we are not just producing sports talents who will go out without full understanding of what the benefits of sporting engagement offer”.

“We are grooming, nurturing and fostering opportunities in Sports and Education, so that we can have holistic benefits that will not just serve only one person, but the one that will serve the community and the society at large”, Lekan Fatodu said.

Odafe and Jesse who have played American Football to the highest level in the NFL posited that the sport has changed their lives totally and it’s an opportunity for anybody that use the platform correctly.

The international NFL players stressed that it’s amazing coming back to invest in the youth and giving back to the society particularly introducing the teachings of America Football.