Oyo State Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Honourable Wasilat Adegoke has hinted that efforts are underway to establish a government-owned female football team.
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Adegoke said this on Friday while playing host to a delegation of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Oyo State Chapter who paid her a courtesy visit at her office in the State Secretariat.
The Commissioner stressed that the plan to create a female football team for Oyo State must be accomplished for the state to have a balanced football team.
Honourable Wasilat said developing sports at the grassroots is her major priority.
According to her, “Plans are in place to revive the annual football competition among secondary schools in the state, Governor’s Cup. We are also working on initiating a similar football competition for primary school pupils. This is important to catch them young”.
The Commissioner assured the visiting sports journalists that Governor Makinde would fulfill the promise he made during her swearing-in that the second phase of the remodeling of the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba will commence soon.
While calling for a synergy between her ministry and the sports writers association, the Commissioner stressed that she needed the support of Oyo SWAN to actualize her mission to foster the development of sports in Oyo State.
“Sports ministry and journalists are partners in progress. As sports administrators, we can’t do without SWAN. It’s very important that we should involve the body in our policy-making and implementation. Not involving SWAN is engaging in an exercise in futility. Sports events without media coverage are like doing nothing”, Honourable Adegoke said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the Oyo State Chapter of SWAN, Mr. Niyi Alebiosu thanked the Honourable Commissioner for opening the doors of her office to the association.
He charged the Commissioner to not only focus on the development of sports at the grassroots but also devise ways to retain the athletes bred in the state.
“It is disheartening to watch other states come to Oyo to poach our athletes because we don’t have a solid follow-up program and satisfactory reward system for our athletes,” he said.
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Mr. Alebiosu also advised the Commissioner to encourage the State Governor to fast-track the completion of the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, pointing out that it is capable of making Oyo state a sports hub by opening doors for the state to host lots of sporting activities.
Oyo SWAN Chairman requested from the Commissioner the inclusion of sports writers in all the sporting bodies and associations to be created by the sports ministry so as to allow SWAN have direct involvement in the development of sports in the state.
