Ex-Ondo lawmaker pushes for grassroots football growth

A former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Gbenga Omole, has urged the Federal and Ondo State governments, along with other groups, to invest more in grassroots football development.

He made this appeal at the grand finale of the eighth edition of the Akogun U-20 Annual Football Competition, which took place in Oka Akoko, the headquarters of Akoko South-West Local Government Area of the state.

Omole, who served in the state assembly from 2019 to 2023, said that developing grassroots football is key to improving Nigeria's football situation.

"Identifying and nurturing promising players at a young age would provide a wider pool of talents for professional clubs and the national teams and will reduce the risk of losing talented footballers who lack the opportunity to develop their abilities."

As the organiser of the annual competition, Omole shared that his love for football and his wish to help young people motivated him to start the event in 2018. He mentioned that the competition has helped discover and promote promising football talents from the grassroots level.

He added that the competition has produced many players who have moved on to professional football, with one player currently playing in Europe. Others have played for Sunshine Stars Football Club and teams in the Nigerian Premier Football League, as well as clubs in Ghana and South Africa.

This year, about 10 promising players were identified from the competition. Four or five of them will go to an academy in Abuja through a partnership with Inspiration Academy for further development.

"One of the products of this competition is now playing professional football in Europe. Many of them are scattered all over the country, and we continue to discover them. We have seen about four or five players whom we are going to take to an academy in Abuja," Omole said.

The organiser called on the government to give more support for grassroots football. He noted that many famous Nigerian footballers, like Finidi George, Joseph Yobo, and Sunday Oliseh, started their careers in similar grassroots setups.

The Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, praised the organisers for the impressive turnout, organization, and skill displayed by the young players.

Gani Mohammed, the governor's Special Adviser on Special Duties and Strategy, represented him at the event. He said the event showed the great potential of young people in the area. He emphasized that better sports facilities could help the community produce football stars who can achieve global fame.

He mentioned that the state government is working on a world-class stadium in Akure. Plans are also in place to develop more sports facilities across the state, not just for football but for other sports.

Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Aloy Agu also praised the organisers. He described the final as very competitive and highlighted the determination and resilience needed in football.

Agu, who has also been a coach for the Super Eagles, pointed out that talent scouts look for good skills, dribbling ability, anticipation, positioning, and decision-making in grassroots players.

At the end of the competition, winners Ore-Ofe FC received N500,000. Owase FC, as first runners-up, got N300,000, while Dogo FC, the second runners-up, went home with N200,000.