3 April 2008
Lagos — Lagos State government has promised to provide 12 ultra-modern playgrounds, consisting of football fields, flood-lighting, generating sets, tennis courts and basketball courts, towards developing the innate potentials of youths.
State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, said this at Alausa, while playing host to officials of the NVA Management of UK, a football and entertainment consortium, who were in the state to present him with an autographed jersey of Captain of Manchester United Football Club, Rio Ferdinand.
Fashola said work has started on Agege Stadium, while the ones at Campus on Lagos Island and four others have been awarded; with the contractors in the process of perfecting the paper works before moving to site.
He said government is seeking appropriate partnership with football authorities, resulting in the decision of the Nigerian Footbal Association(NFA), to return the FA Cup final to Lagos .
He said his government intends to make the competition bigger and more colourful, and ensure that it makes a convincing case against rotation of the hosting of the Challenge Cup Finals.
He said the Teslim Balogun Stadium should be the permanent host of the FA Cup finals, as the FA Cup in England has never been moved away from Wembley Stadium, saying Lagos has the capacity to give it the desired carnival-like status.
He charged everyone to ensure the channeling of all resources and talent into building the game of soccer, not only for its entertainment values for families at weekends, but for the employment potentials it provides.
While extending an invitation to Rio Ferdinand to visit Lagos, Fashola also challenged Manchester United FC to consider a playing tour of Nigeria and Lagos.
Speaking earlier, leader of the team, Mr Dapo Kujore Olowu, said the team was in Lagos to share the passion which they share with Fashola, on his love for Manchester United Club.
Kujore, who manages Rio Ferdinand and Nigeria's Obafemi Martins, said he brought an autographed jersey of the player as a sign of his wish to visit Nigeria and Lagos if invited by the governor and to explore the possibility of opening a football academy in Lagos.
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