Closure of Agege Stadium for over 3 years is killing football development as its closure has added significant running cost to Football Clubs in Sports247 reports.
This is the view of Mr Hamilton John, the COO of Emrald FC, a Nation Wide League One club based in Lagos State whose club home matches used to be played at Agege Stadium.
In a chat with Sports247, Hamilton lamented that the club has incurred significant expenses which run into millions of Naira on the transportation players alone, from the mainland to the Island for matches due to the closure of Agege Stadium.
” The four years closure of the stadium has really dealt a huge blow on grassroots in Agege and it’s environs . Its no longer bearable and we cannot longer pretend as if everything is okay”.
” Football is virtually leaving the mainland and the additional cost of playing our home matches in Lagos Island runs into millions as home and away matches are being in the same stadium.”
Lots of club owners are opting out of Lagos State due to high cost of running while many have folded up their business as no grants, support from the governments or the league body and the stadium that is serving as succour has been closed down with no opening day in sight in the name of renovation”, Hamilton John told our correspondent.
He spoke further on the effect of the closure of the stadium In Agege.
Hamilton said :” “The absence of a functional stadium in Agege has deprived the youth in the community of a safe and productive space for recreation and sports development. This has led to an increase in social vices and idle hands among the youth, who would have otherwise been engaged in sports and physical activities”.
When quizzed whether the club owners in Agege have made any move to bring their suffering to the notice of Lagos State Government, Hamilton said they plan to hold a peaceful protest to Lagos State Government to seek intervention of the Governor.
They have to shelve the move after notifying the Lagos State Football Association, LSFA.
The Lagos State Football Association through the chairman gave them assurances that their complaints will get to the appropriate quarters as all the club owners signed a letter highlighting the hardships addressed to the Government.
He then used the opportunity to appeal to the government to look into the issues delaying the innovation works at the Agege stadium.
“We are calling on the Lagos State Government to come to our aid by providing a stadium for us and other club owners in Agege.”
“This will not only benefit our club but also promote sports development, youth empowerment, and community engagement in Agege. It will also help to revive businesses around the stadium and provide a safe space for our youth to engage in sports and physical activities.”
“We believe that the provision of a stadium will be a significant investment in the development of sports in Lagos State,” said John Hamilton.
