Lagos Junior League Set For New Season

Barrister Taofeek Aromire is the Executive Secretary of the Lagos Junior League. In this interview with BIMBO AJAYI, he spoke on the success of the league in its debut season, and the plan of the board to improve the quality of play in the coming season

How will you rate the 2011/2012 season?

If I give an objective analysis that is based on what we saw, I will rate the last season very high. The quality of play was very high despite the fact that we confronted a few teething problems in the course of the season. But I don’t want us to forget the fact that the Tecnical Director, Tunde Disu (OFR), has carried out an assessment on the coaches of the teams in the league. Besides, the Lagos State Football Association has also mandated that all our coaches must possess the minimum NFI qualification. These moves are beneficial to the league in that they have had positive impact on the quality of play on the pitch. People who watch the highlights of the matches on the television can testify to the high quality of the league. And the fact that some of these players have been invited to the national U-17 camp is an indication that the league is going places.

In what areas are the organisers planning to improve on the league next season?

Honestly, we are expecting something better in the coming season. We are working on a situation where we can improve on the welfare of the players. That is why we have made a pact with the Department of Physiotherapy of the College of Medicine at the University of Lagos to provide medical care for the players at match venues. We also want to provide insurance cover for all the players in the league. In addition, we are working on a situation where we can widen our television coverage so that more people will have the opportunity to watch the matches.

What effort is the Lagos State government making to improve on the league?

The contribution of the Lagos State Government to improve the lot of the league has been tremendous. We would not have started, let alone gone far, if not for the effort of the state goverment. Aside from the state government, the Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas have been so fantastic. They have been financing their respective teams and providing adequate assistance to the league. I commend them elaborately for what what they have done so far. However, what we want to do is to make the league a legacy by which it will go beyond the tenure of their government. We want to make it an economic success and a source of empowerment to the stakeholders.

How can the national U-17 side benefit from the talents that have been discovered in the league?

One of the goals of the founders of the Lagos Junior League is to eradicate age cheats in Nigerian football. Aside from discovering young talents, our aim is to face out age cheats in Nigerian football. That is why we have made a partnership with the Ministry of Education in the state to confirm the real ages of our players. We think the move is necessary since it is the ministry that has accurate birth records of these players. And the officials at the ministry have been so helpful by supplying us the correct birth records of the players.

What is your take on Nigeria football considering the fact that none of our teams will feature at the coming Olympics?

The truth is that we need to change our orientation. We need to put in place structures by which we can assess our various national teams. The truth is that we can only get it right if we can go back to the boardroom and carry out an assessment on our football.