…..As team FA FC emerges as winners of U-8 category
The Nigeria Football Federation, former Nigerian U-20 chief coach, Fanny Amu, and several other Nigeria football dignitaries were full of praise for former Super Eagles star and Olympian, Femi Ajilore for his efforts in the promotion of grassroots football in the Federal Capital Territory.
Several of them who spoke with our correspondent at the occasion of the Grand finale/closing and award ceremony of the Kids soccer league which took place at the Wakanda Games arena wuse zone 5, Abuja applauded Ajilore for seizing the initiative to put up a program that is developing kids in the FCT on the basics of football.
NFF representation at the occasion, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme expressed total satisfaction with the Kids’ soccer league saying. “I must tell you, I am highly very impressed and I am also happy that one of our Ex-International is the one who has got himself involved in this. To me as a person that is what should be expected of our Ex-Internationals.
For Femi to take this bull by the horn to start this kind of thing is highly very commendable. The fact still remains that if we want to get it right in football development it is the grass root. And the age of which he is starting is the best. What I will only encourage him to do is to see how he can integrate good and experienced coaches at this level, because, some of us feel a little disappointed that when you call players to U-15, 17 national teams, you still find out that they lack the basic rudiment of skill acquisition, and it should start at this level so that the time they are old enough to be invited the coaches will not saddle himself with how to teach them on how to kick, how to shoot. It should be a tactical thing at that level,”
Nigeria’s former under-20 chief coach, Fanny Amuh, commended Ajilore for not toeing the line of some of his colleagues who are in the habit that Nigeria has abandoned them but has decided to channel his energy on something very positive.“I want to commend Femi Ajilore for this wonderful thing he is doing here. He did not go to say the country has abandoned him. He played within and outside the country; he is not administering and using his mentality. Recently, he was elected into the FA of the FCT. So, if tomorrow, say in another twenty years’ time he becomes one of those that would serve this country as the president of the Nigeria Football Federation. You can see it- it’s a pool and that is how it starts.
The organizer of the ABL FCT football tournament, Adedayo Benjamin-Laniyi says, “I am super excited; I mean, to me first and foremost it’s a message for the Nigerian spirit in sportsmanship and in sports development, not just at the level of National institutional sports representation but at the level of community engagement. Look around you, families, Dads are here, Mums are here, grandmas aunts, uncles… It is the celebration of the families of the community here in the FCT; it’s the celebration of the heart of our capital city community and the fact that when you have football you have all,”
Super football agent, Mo Mohammed was not left out in the adulations saying, “I always believe in catching them young. I am so impressed with the couple of talents I have seen. It’s not even just today, from the beginning of this tournament till the very end I saw a lot of future Messis here and what Ajilore is doing is amazing because it gives us the agents the opportunity to spot the talents as early as the age they are now. So it’s a good one, it’s really a good one,”
Meanwhile, Femi Ajilore himself expressed satisfaction with the level of work they have done with the tournament, saying, “The major aim of this tournament is to help these kids develop from their tender age thereby knowing the basic of the game. And as you can see some of them are already in Europe, some have tried out and we can tell you they are presently doing very well and we are hoping for the best for them. And we believe that what they have learned from their training, from the tournament, I think those things will take them to another greater height. So, we are very happy with their development. We just hope that they continue because it is our dream to see them as superstars in the nearest future.
We have programs lined up for the year. We are happy though; it’s been a tough one from February till now. So, after now we are going to take a little break. Our Super Cup might be coming up soon, the second edition, and after that, we are hoping for another great tournament just to engage the kids so that we don’t just do a tournament one time and just put it to an end,” he concluded.
At the end of the day, Team FA.FC ( Femi Ajilore Football Clinic / Academy ) emerged winner of the U-8 category, while Distinction Football Academy was the winner of the U-10 category, and Eagles Wings Football Academy was the champion of the U-13 category. The Fair Play team trophy went to FC International.
Eight other individuals were awarded to other outstanding players from the tournament.
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