Collins Edwin Sport Club aim is to take the kids off the street, give them a platform to become an asset – Uche Ugwu
By Saheed Afolabi
Collins Edwin Sport Club established in Lagos have set a pace among their contemporaries as the club that have set goals and achieve them at an accurate time and pace.
The club which is presently in the 3rd tier of Nigeria professional football, which is the Nationwide League One and are in pole position to qualify for the 2nd division, which is the Nigeria National League (NNL).
Speaking to ECHONEWS, the founder and general manager of Collins Edwin Sport Club, Uche Jay Ugwu described the club as a place where they take young talented kids off the streets and teach them how to play football.
The football administrator cum journalist said the enormous talents in football made him have an interest in the game.
“My interest in football started when I was very young, I played for my primary and secondary school, then we were not encouraged to play football and one of my coaches then during my playing days at Delta Stars told me that I should give back to the society.
“I started what you are doing now (Journalism), I was a pundit with Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS) and ABS Anambra, and in 2006 I relocated to Lagos and went to National Institute of Sports (NIS) for my coaching certificate, after I graduated, I realized that Lagos is where I need to be because of the enormous talents and grassroots developmental programs and that’s how I established Collins Edwin FC.
“The achievements of Collins Edwin are there to see and we have been doing well by producing a lot of players for the national team especially the youth team, like Samuel Okon (The U17 set of Kelechi Iheanacho), Arinza Agurounzi was with the U20, Chisom Orji played for the U20, Home based Eagles and the U23, Tijani Samson captained the U17, Bruno Sobrutuchwukwu, Pascal Onozie, Ugonna Anyaora who played for Super Eagles and FK Haugesund FC in Norway.
“Our aim is to take the kids away from the streets, social vices and teach them how to play football, so that they can be a valuable asset to the community and nation at large.”
