The vice-chairman of Lagos State Football Association (LSFA), Dotun Coker has predicted that this year’s FA Cup will be full of excitement and lots of surprises from beginning to end, Sports247 reports.
Coker made this assertion minutes after the competition’s official draw ceremony on Wednesday, at which he represented LSFA chairman, Hajji Gafar Olawale Liameed.
He went on to promise better trappings in terms of officiating, playing surfaces and other aspects of the round leather game, all of which he enthused will add up to make this year’s competition very memorable.
The LSFA’s second in command and former technical director added, “The expectation for this year is to see more of improved officiating, smooth playing surfaces for the games to be played on, proximity to all the match venues and highly disciplined teams.
We should also expect good footballing skills and lots of surprises, especially from the academies.”
Coker also served an analytical summary of Wednesday’s draw, which he believes brought out well-balanced pairings that suggest the possibility of any of the contesting clubs ending up as champion at the end of the race, for which he disclosed that a number of venues have already been confirmed.
He reasoned further, “Looking at the draws, it was well positioned in such a way that any club can clinch the trophy this year; ahead of which we will start out at the New Maracana Stadium and Legacy Pitch.
As we progress in this event, Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Onikan will come on, NITEL Ground will also come on. Any good surfaced playing field will suffice in any of the divisions.”
He then pointed at a myriad of benefits that would accrue to the competing clubs, their players and Lagos State as a whole, especially in the search for hidden talents of the round leather game.
The soft-spoken football guru noted, “To the advantage of Lagos State, this competition is very good, and it’s coming up at a time we are preparing for the National Sports Festival eliminations. This means we will be able to scout talents from it.
We also acknowledge that grassroots clubs know their relevance in Lagos State. We remember how Christ Ambassadors, a grassroots team, once won the event by beating the giants. So, grassroots clubs are very key to us and very dear for us to monitor.
As for teams that are not here, my advice for them is that, ‘If you can not muster the registration fee, you should be able to give your intelligent players to other teams to play.’ It’s a collaboration for them to play, a platform to showcase young players,” Coker theorized.
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