Lagos Sports Commission Boss Meets Family of Young Squash Player Over Viral Incident

The Director-General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Lekan Fatodu, met with the mother of a young squash player who appeared in a viral video. This video highlighted an issue that stopped her daughter from taking part in a sports event.

Mr Fatodu met with Abike Oshodi and her daughter, Tanimola Oshodi, on Wednesday. He wanted to hear directly from them about what happened.

Tanimola plays squash for Lagos in the Under-15 category. She reportedly faced barriers that kept her from competing in an important sports event. These barriers came from personnel of Surulere Local Government.

During the meeting, Mrs Oshodi praised the Lagos State Sports Commission for supporting her daughter and other young athletes. But she urged the Commission to do more to educate other government bodies in the state on the need to support young athletes instead of taking actions that could hurt their dreams.

She especially called for more awareness about the need to protect the dreams of young people, particularly girls who want to build careers in sports.

Mr Fatodu responded to their concerns, promising that the Commission would talk to the government body involved to stop this from happening again. He said the Commission will also work on ways to improve its response to similar issues faced by young athletes.

He mentioned that these steps would include creating a policy framework to prevent situations that could disrupt athletes’ chances to compete. There would also be plans to improve communication between the Commission, athletes, and their parents. Additionally, they aim to raise awareness among government ministries and agencies about protecting young sporting talent.

“The dream of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is to see young talents discovered in Lagos and nurtured to their full potential. So, any action by anyone or any entity that seeks to undermine that dream for youth empowerment through sports will be a big disservice to talent development,” Mr Fatodu said.

The Commission stated that the meeting with the Oshodi family aimed to better understand what happened and to make sure the young athlete gets the support she needs. Tanimola is one of the young athletes representing Lagos in squash at the Under-15 level.