Ex-Ondo Lawmaker Gbenga Omole

A former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Gbenga Omole. Photo: Omole

A former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Gbenga Omole, has called on the Federal and Ondo State governments, as well as other stakeholders, to encourage greater investment in grassroots football development.

He made the call at the grand finale of the eighth edition of the Akogun U-20 Annual Football Competition, held in Oka Akoko, the headquarters of Akoko South-West Local Government Area of the state.

Omole, who was in the state assembly between 2019 and 2023, said grassroots football development remained critical to the revival of Nigeria’s football fortunes.

“Identifying and nurturing promising players at a young age would provide a wider pool of talents for professional clubs and the national teams and will reduce the risk of losing talented footballers who lack the opportunity to develop their abilities.”

Omole, who is the organiser of the annual competition, noted that his passion for football and desire to empower young people inspired him to organise the competition in 2018, adding that the initiative had provided a platform for discovering, nurturing and promoting promising football talents from the grassroots.

He added that the competition had produced several players who progressed to professional football, with one of its products currently playing in Europe, while others had featured for Sunshine Stars Football Club and clubs in the Nigerian Premier Football League, as well as teams in Ghana and South Africa.

He further revealed that about 10 promising players had been identified from this year’s competition, adding that four or five of them would be taken to an academy in Abuja through a partnership with Inspiration Academy for further development.

“One of the products of this competition is now playing professional football in Europe.”

Many of them are scattered all over the country, and we continue to discover them. We have seen about four or five players whom we are going to take to an academy in Abuja,” Omole disclosed.

The organiser urged the government to provide greater support for grassroots football, noting that prominent Nigerian footballers, including Finidi George, Joseph Yobo and Sunday Oliseh, began their careers from similar grassroots environments.

The Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, commended the organisers for the impressive turnout, organisation and quality of football skills displayed by the young players.

Represented by his Special Adviser on Special Duties and Strategy, Gani Mohammed, the governor said the event had demonstrated the enormous potential of young people in the area, stressing that improved sporting facilities could help the community produce football stars capable of earning global recognition.

He disclosed that the state government was currently working on a world-standard stadium in Akure, while plans were also underway to develop more sporting facilities across the state, not only for football but for other sporting activities.

In his remark, former Super Eagles goalkeeper Aloy Agu also commended the organisers of the competition, describing the final as a highly competitive encounter that demonstrated the determination and resilience required in football.

Agu, who also served as a former Super Eagles goalkeeper coach, identified good skills, dribbling ability, anticipation, positioning and decision-making as some of the qualities talent scouts look for in grassroots players.

At the end of the competition, winners Ore-Ofe FC received N500,000, while Owase FC received N300,000 as first runners-up and Dogo FC, the second runners-up, went home with N200,000.