The immediate past Chairman of the Kwara United Football Club of Ilorin, Prince Thompson Oladimeji, as emerged the patron of Kwara Beach Soccer Association.
Thompson was appointed patron of the association during a one-day capacity building seminar on beach soccer, held at the Mandate Hall, Kwara State Broadcasting Corporation, Ilorin.
Speaking at the event, the general manager of Kwara State Broadcasting Corporation who also double as the board Chairman, Kwara Beach Soccer, Abdullateef Adedeji, said sports have globally been identified as a tool for crime reduction and a weapon for National Integration.
Adedeji charged youths to involve in sporting activities so as to guarantee World Security and National unity.
“The game of Football has moved faster and faster beyond reasonable doubt, it’s an accelerated brand that is receiving global attention from both the ordinary fans and ardent followers.
“For Beach Soccer to also receive such significant attention, efforts must be redoubled on raising awareness about the game from the grassroots” Adedeji said.
He said the one-day capacity building seminar put together with the inauguration with the theme “The Prospects and Benefits of Beach Soccer and Its Attendant Challenges towards Youth and Social Development in Nigeria” is to create awareness about the game in Kwara.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I hope and believe that today’s seminar will go a long way in broadening the knowledge of the participants and at the end, will achieve its ultimate aims and objectives.
“Let me reiterate here that, our resource persons have promised to do justice to the topic as we are all set to tap from their wealth of experience” Adedeji said.
The new Kwara Beach Soccer Chairman, appealed to the state government to extend its support to the association as the board is currently running on individual’s donations and support that is not enough to prosecute its programmes.
Adedeji hinted that a Beach Soccer championship is already scheduled for December in the state.
CAF and FIFA Instructor, Sunday Okai, took participants on the selected topic while former national beach soccer goalkeeper, Abdullahi Isa, also lectured the participants on the history of the game.
The new board members includes: Abdullateef Adedeji as Chairman; Abimbola Olaoye – Vice chairman; Abdulrasheed Saraki – Coordinator; others are, Olawale Isiaka as technical adviser; Yusuf Hafsat – Welfare Officer; Otolorin Mariam – treasurer; Bayour Issah as consultant; Ayodeji Ismail – media officer and Paul Odey as the technical director.
