The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has restated its commitment to partner with the private sector to develop youth sporting activities at the grassroot level in order to discover and harness the abundant talents scattered across the territory.
The Director, Sports Development of the Social Development Secretariat, Lukas Istifanus, stated this on Wednesday at the beginning of Adedayo Benjamin-Laniyi FCT football tournament.
He said investing in grassroot sports in the territory will in no distant future catapult the FCT to become a force to be reckoned with in the Nigerian sporting circle, thereby reducing crime among the youths.
While commending the organiser of the tournament for not only using sporting activities to keep FCT youths engaged, but also creating a unifying platform, Istifanus expressed the administration’s readiness to partner with private and corporate individuals towards developing and raising the standard of sports in Abuja.
He noted that the performance of FCT in the last National Sports Festival where it clinched the gold medal in the football event, further demonstrated its comparative strength in football and the need for the FCT Administration and other relevant stakeholders to develop and project the territory to the world through sports.
Speaking earlier, Adebayo Benjamins-Laniyi, the organiser of the tournament and founder of Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi Foundation said the football championship which attracted about 1,200 players, drawn from 80 teams from the six Area Councils of the FCT are participating in the tournament.
She noted that already some of the footballers who shone brilliantly have been contacted by scouts who are ready to further develop their talents.
Meanwhile, former Nigerian International and three African Footballer of the Year, who presently the Chairman of Enyimba Football Club, Aba, Nwankwo Kanu and another former Nigerian International player, who is presently a board member of the FCT FA, Femi Ajilore, have thrown their weights behind the Adedayo Benjamins–Laniyi Unity Championship that is ongoing at the Old Parade Ground, Area 10, Abuja.
While the former Super Eagles Captain Kanu was not in the stand during the opening ceremony, Ajilore, who was a member of the Flying Eagles team that won silver at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in The Netherlands in 2005 was among the dignitaries that graced the event.
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