My Plan For Grassroots Football In Lagos

Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi is a newly elected chairman of Lagos State Football Association. He spoke about his plans and vision for grassroots football in Lagos State with SUNDAY AKINTOYE

Sir, what are your plans for grassroots football and clubs in Lagos State?

I have a lot of plans for grassroots football and clubs in Lagos State. Over the years, a lot of things have gone wrong in the system which will be corrected during my administration.

What are those things ?

Most of these grassroots football clubs and academies are not registered or affiliated with Lagos FA, which is wrong as far as football is concerned in the state. Aside this, some football associations have not registered with us but they organise big competitions. This will stop very soon.

Knowing full well that there are so many unregistered clubs and football associations in Lagos State, how do you set to achieve this goal?

We are not going to take strident measures to enforce these laws. All all we need to do is to call for a stakeholders’ meeting where it will involved grassroots club owners, associations, coaches and other relevant authorities to discuss the issue amicably.

What are the penalties for the associations or organisers that refuse to register?

We are not going to clamp down on these unregistered football organisers or association immediately. We will give them some time, but if they don’t, change for good, we will take drastic actions. We will go to match venues and stop football competitions of organisers that do not follow normal procedures .

Do you think that stopping competitions will solve this lingering problem in the state?

Stopping the competition will be the last option to adopt, only when the associations fail to response to our demand. That is why the stakeholders meeting is very important. I don’t want to say much about what the registered clubs and associations will gain until they attend the meeting.

What policies are you plsnning to introduce that will attract grassroots clubs and association to register with Lagos FA?

My administration will introduce an effective scouting system in all registered competitions to discover talented players that will represent the state at the national and international levels.

We will give logistics support to the organisers and help some clubs who want to play competition outside the state.