HRA Youth Cup: Ajala Commends Organisers
By Saheed Afolabi
As the Hon. Rasaq Ajala (HRA) Youth Cup entered its third edition with an exciting kickoff at Ilupeju Secondary School (ILUSEC) in Odiolowo-Ojuwoye LCDA, the council chairman, Hon. Rasaq Ajala commended both the organisers and the participating teams.
The tournament has drawn participation from 50 teams across the state, all vying for victory on the football field.
Ajala expressed his appreciation for their efforts in making the competition possible and successful.
The council boss assured everyone of his unwavering support not only for football but also for various other sporting activities.
Speaking about his recent appointment as the chairman of the Lagos State Principals’ Cup, the council boss revealed his plans to revitalise the competition.
He emphasised that the competition would once again become a valuable platform for discovering and nurturing talents as it had been in the past.
Ajala said he would be committed to extending his government’s support beyond football to encompass all sporting activities in the LCDA, stating that his administration would prioritise the promotion and development of sports in the council area.
He stated further that he would encourage the growth of athletes and foster a vibrant sports culture.
“We are not going to concentrate our resources on football alone, we have been supporting other sports like basketball, table tennis, and boxing games where several talents have been discovered and we will continue to do that.
“We believe sporting activities should be a veritable platform that we can use to get the youths engaged instead of using such energies on destructive things that will not benefit them and the larger society,” he stressed.
He advised the competitors to have the spirit of sportsmanship where no one is a loser.
“I want to advise all the participants to have a sporting spirit.
“In any competition like this you will always have the winner…. of course, there are no losers in a competition like this.
“All of you should come into the arena to do your utmost best to ensure you get the coveted trophy at the end of the day.
“For the fact that those who lose don’t get it this time around does not mean they won’t get in the subsequent edition, it should not be a do-or-die affair,” he added.
He advised the supporters of both teams to exhibit a high degree of maturity while supporting their teams.
“To the supporters of all teams, I want to appeal to you to show a high degree of maturity in supporting your teams,” he concluded.
In the opening match of the competition, the Ghetto Tigress defeated Young Ladies Achievers by 2 goals to 1 while the second match had the males category where the defending champion, Ghetto Tigers walloped Tuto Atlanta 2 goals to 0 with the goals from Yakub Shamsu and Dare Owosheni.
The highlight of the event was the entertainment and presentation of the award to the chairman by Babatunde Adeniran popularly known (LL COOL J) who gesticulated different postures of some notable football stars in Nigeria and Internationally during half time of the females’ match.
While presenting the award to the chairman, Babatunde Adeniran stated that he decided to give the award to the council’s Boss as a result of his support for the youths in the area of sporting activities.
A collage of pictures of the chairman of Odi-Olowo Ojuwoye LCDA, Hon Rasaq Ajala taking the official kickoff of the game, having official handshake and when presented with an award by the official Super Eagles mascot
