PIX:Hon Sulaiman Bamidele Yusuf, Executive Chairman, Surulere Local Government,
Kehinde Buhari, Surelere LGA Council manager; Hon Labinjo Ladehinde, Supervisor for Agriculture, Youth and Sports, and some members of the LSSC such as Bolaji Yusuf, Yomi Kuku, Phemmy Adetula, Deji Aeladegbemi, Adeyinka Adedoyin were present during the brief ceremony.
By Dianabasi Effiong
Surulere Local Government has won the hosting rights for the 2023 Lagos Street Soccer Championship (LSSC) in October, this year.
Chairman of the Lagos Street Soccer body, Bolaji Yusuf, made this known during a visit to the Chairman of the Council.
According to Yusuf, Surulere is the preferred choice out of the several hosting bids submitted across the state.
The Yusuf-led committee is tasked with reviving the vision of the pioneers of the championship inaugurated in 2008 by the Lagos State Football Association (LSFA).
He said, “We are glad to announce that Surulere will host the 2023 Lagos Street Soccer Championship opening ceremony.
“This decision was taken after several considerations by the committee in conjunction with the Lagos State Football Association that charged us with the mandate of leading this big project of reviving street soccer across the state.”
The former Senior Special Adviser to the Lagos State Government on Sports Facilities under Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode, noted that the championship grew in scope, purpose, and prospects and became a formidable platform through which football development improved through conscious grassroots development.
He said that it was a testament to the success story of Public-Private Partnership in the socio-economic development of the society.
In his remarks, the Surulere Council Chairman, Sulaiman Yusuf, thanked the Lagos State FA and the Lagos State Street Soccer body for deeming the ‘Sport city’ worthy of hosting the opening ceremony.
“We are excited about this development. Using sports as an engaging tool for the teeming youth of Surulere, is part of our core mandate.
“We are glad that the Lagos State Street Soccer Committee has given us a platform to actualize this vision,” he said.
He commended the Lagos FA, led by Fouad Oki, for reviving grassroots football in the state, adding that the Council would work with other stakeholders to hold a befitting hosting ceremony.
He also declared his support for the initiative that featured more than 3,000 teams with more than 30,000 players and officials as direct beneficiaries over a period of seven seasons from 2008 to 2014 across all the 377 wards in Lagos State.
