A director of Lagos-based Ikorodu City FC, Tobi Samuel Adepoju has disclosed a chain of factors that helped the young club move fast ahead of their four-year target of reaching the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL).
In contrast with their initial plan of qualifying for the Nigerian top-flight division after four years of inception as a football club, Adepoju said he is excited that they have done it in only two years.
Speaking against the backdrop of a sterling outing by The Oga Boys at the recent Nigeria National League (NNL) Super-8 in Enugu, where they gained an NPFL ticket by placing second behind Beyond Limit FA of Ikenne in the southern group, Adepoju added that it was due to proper management and cooperation within the club.
He further attributed their accelerated progress since their official take-off in 2022 as a product of proper administration, effective commercial strides and strong followership by teeming football fans.
Adepoju, who also disclosed that he is happy with the switch he made from journalism into football club administration, further thanked the team’s chairman-cum-vice-president, Sanmi Doherty, as well as the coaches, and players for making the rapid progress possible.
He also recognised the efforts of other directors of the club – Kayode Badmus, Olawale Quadry, Suleiman Adebayo and Samuel Bamisebi – for making their four-year-target achievable in three seasons.
“We started in 2022. So, it’s about two years plus for us,” the smooth-talking ace disclosed. “It’s a great feeling for this amazing team that we’ve put together.”
I am happy with what we’ve been able to do here with my co-directors and our chairman, Sanmi. Along with the players and the coach, it’s been a successful journey for us.
“When we started the club in 2022, we had dreams, and our first intention was getting to the NPFL in our fourth year. Doing it in our third season means we are one year ahead of our dreams.
“It’s really amazing to achieve this promotion ticket, and we really appreciate everyone who has given us this support.”
Adepoju also spoke about the experience he has gained in club management, which he said was boosted by the years he earlier spent as a journalist.
He expatiated thus: “It’s pretty difficult being a club administrator. As a journalist doing the transition into club administration, it was bound to be pretty difficult, but I was prepared for it.
“I’ve always had this dream that I needed to convert my experience from journalism into football administration.
I noted that people who are privileged to run government clubs and various teams are not special.
Everyone has got potentials to add value to Nigerian football.”
He concluded with details of the special trappings that have taken Ikorodu City into the NPFL, some years after another Lagos-based team with a similar name, Ikorodu United, were relegated and then disbanded.
“People can see what we are doing at Ikorodu City,” Adepoju externuated.
“It’s a model community club with a small budget, but we’ve got sponsorships, massive media branding, massive marketing, and the fan base is huge.
“For a club that was founded in 2022, we’ve built our identity. What we have done is not a fluke.
It’s a pointer to the fact that there are a lot of people out there with potentials that can do good for Nigerian football and contribute to its progress.
“It’s a big privilege being part of this success story. I really appreciate the chairman for giving us the opportunity to come and work as directors at Ikorodu City.”
