Adebanji Atewogboye Reveals Impact Of Lagos Street Soccer Stars On Youths

By Saheed Afolabi

The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on grassroots sport, Adebanji Atewogboye (Skibanj) has reeled out the positives of the second edition of the Lagos Street Soccer Stars tournament. The competition is held at Joseph Street adjoining Oloyede Street, Oshodi.

The “Oshodi Hidden Talents” tournament is organised by Skibanj in collaboration with First Bank Nigeria Plc, Dangote Salt and Sporty Lagos Naija Limited.

Dosunmu Street edged Ariyibi Oke Street on penalties after the match ended in a draw, while Popoola Street secured a 2-1 win over Adeyemo Street. Amusa Street claimed a 3-1 victory, and Olorunishola Street also posted a convincing 3-1 triumph against Arowojobe Street

Skibanj said the purpose of the tournament is to engage the youths positively through sports.

He added that more teams showed interest to participate in this year’s edition which signifies the growth of the grassroots sport event.

Skibanj further highlighted that the winner of the competition will go home with a million naira, second place team will be eligible to collect 750 thousand naira while the third place team will be compensated with Five hundred thousand naira. Individual awardees will also be rewarded with a hundred thousand naira each.

“The impacts is to use sports as a tool to take our youths from social vices, and engage them positively.

“This year we have more teams coming to participate than and we have other individual awards for 100k each.”

Mr. Ayenigbara Samuel, Chief Superintendent of Narcotics at the NDLEA Lagos Strategic Command in Ikoyi, said footballers should desist from taking performance-enhancing drugs to succeed.

Hon. Saheed Animashaun, Chairman of the APC Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Chapter, hailed the initiative as a landmark grassroots sports programme that aligns with and reinforces Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to youth empowerment.