Companies must invest in Nigerian sports development ―Gani Adams

 

National coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress, Otunba Gani Adams has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure that multinational companies in the country spend at least 2% of their profits on sports development in Nigeria.

Adams stated this over the weekend during the 2017 edition of the Gani Adams U–13 Football competition, which took place at the National Stadium, Lagos.

Mauri Feeder Football Club of Agege emerged as the 2017 inner of the   competition, after they beat the B Unit Football Club of Surulere by two goals to nil in the final.

The sponsor of the event, Aare Gani Adams in his speech at the occasion also announced his plan to organize an Under-20 football competition in his capacity as the new Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubalnd.

He also charged the Federal Government of Nigeria to compel multinational companies to invest at least 2% of their profits to sports development in Nigeria.

Adams however stated that the new Under 20 competition will include tens from all the states of Yorubaland, unlike the under 13 competition which only consisted of teams from only Lagos State.

It was a thrilling and exciting football match late on Friday evening as the Mauri Feeders won in each halves of the game to the surprise of their host.

A total of thirty two teams participated in the 2017 edition of football competition, which started eight years ago as parts of the activities of the Gani Adams Foundation.

The first half was heading for a stalemate, when one of the Agege team players latched on to a loose ball, which went to the bottom of the net through the right pole.

The Agege team maintained their lead, though with little or no pressure from their host, who had done remarkably well in the course of the competition.

The second half started brighly as both teams threatened each other’s goal but it appeared that the game would end with just a single goal until one of the players of the Agege team was sent off for a second bookable offence.

The sending off did no harm to the Agege boys as they increased the goal tally by another goal and therefore became the 2017 winner of the Gani Adams U-13 competition

Adams, while speaking shortly after presetting cheques of N100 000, N70 000 and N50 000 to the winners, runners-up and the third place winners respectively, bemoaned the state of the National Stadium Surulere.

Adams said: “We started this competition in 2009. Our target is to discover talents .We want to catch them young and build confidence in the young players. We want to produce the new sets of Ronaldo, Pele, Okocha and other great stars.”

The sponsor of the competition also said “It is saddening that the National Stadium, Surulere has been abandoned and neglected by the Federal Government. It is unfortunate that our government do not know the importance of sports.”

He called on the Federal Government to “formulate a policy that will compel multinational companies to invest at least 2% of their income to sports development in Nigeria.