Sports

SPORTS PERSONALITY: KWSG should leverage on Grassroots Sports devt – Gidado FC TM

 

Sulaiman Funsho Mohammed is the Team Manager Gidado FC, Ilorin. In this interview with MIKE ADEYEMI, he speaks about his club’s promotion into the NNL next season as well as the need for the Kwara State Government to improve sports development at the grassroots. Excerpts:
How has Gidado FC fared in the NNL and what is its position on the log?
Through the power of Almighty Allah,  Gidado Football Club in Ilorin, Kwara State has been existing since year 2016.
Prior now, it was an Academy not a Football Club.
The Club is owned by a successful business Tycoon and a sports lover in person of Afase Babatunde Solihu.
The Academy was duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and Affiliated with Kwara State Football Association.
Gidado Football Academy aims at promoting grassroots sports development and also to give Kwara indigenes the opportunity to expose themselves to outside world.
But, due to some reason the name Gidado Football Academy was change to Gidado Football Club last year after our promotion to NNL.
While the club still featuresparade in Nationwide League Division 1 in present season and by the power of Almighty God Gidado Football Club is doing very well presently in the league by leading the table in group C2.
Are you hopeful that is Gidado FC will get promotion into NNL next season?
I think with God and more hard work everything is possible. As I said earlier, Gidado Football Club is leading in our group with 2 points and we all have 2 matches to go both home and away matches.
Our last game will be on 26th of this month in which we will be victorious by the Grace of Almighty Allah. Meanwhile, this  is not the first or second time of this Club’s participation in national play-off matches, though with different names. With God on our side, Gidado Football Club will still bring glory of promotion back to the present administration in the State of Harmony.
How many indigenious Kwara players from your club are in Sweden presently?
Four Kwara born players from Gidado FC are in Sweden presently. Those players had the opportunity when they  participated in Tiki Taka National scouting programme in Nigeria, while four of them made the final list to Denmark and Sweden.
More so Kwara State is the only state with the highest number of  four (4) players among other states in the country.
All these 4 boys are typical Kwarans and they are Sulyman Ajibade, Muritala Muhammed Balogun, Abdulkodir Abdulrazaq and Jamiu Awodi. Muritala Balogun is the highest goal scorer in Denmark before he moved to Sweden for another competition where they have played two matches already and they won the two games by 3-0 & 7-0.
The four boys are in Sweden presently after they left Denmark last week after winning the DANA CUP.
They proceeded to Sweden for another competition GOTHA’S CUP going on presently in Sweden.
These four players are not the first group that had traveled out of the country in our club with the personal sweat of the chairman of Gidado FC without taking one kobo from any of the player’s parents including financing procurement of international passport of everyone of them.
What is the mission of Gidado FC?
Our mission as a Football Club is to develop the youth of Kwara generally in positive manner of leadership and make them to have self confidence and self esteem.
While our vision is to improve the standard of football, mentoring the youths in our community on sports and sharing in the experience of the past footballers in the state.
Gidado Football Academy is a gender-sensitive, non-religious and non-ethnic football Organisation situated in Ilorin, the Kwara  State Capital.
What should Kwara State Government do for football development in the state?
Firstly, Kwara State Government needs to move closer to the grassroots by creating an opportunity programmes for grassroots coaches that can help them to be more useful in our society.
The government should encourage upcoming players in the state because they are the product tomorrow .
Government should try and rehabilitate the Kwara State Football Academy as well as providing all the necessary equipments that can help develop Football at large.
Because we all are witnesses to what KFA is all about mostly during the era of coach Clement Westerof.
Government should also try to create more employment via sports for those with merits and knowledgeable about what football is all about.
The Kwara State government should also create scholarship opportunity for gifted players in our society.
Also, government should try to create good relationship with all the club owners in the state towards assisting and encouraging them.
But more importantly, I want to strongly advise the state government to work seriously on grassroots and club’s owners in the state.
It will surely change the face of  football development in our state because Kwarans are blessed with lot of talents.

Show More

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button