Stakeholders involved in the maiden edition of the Lagos City Cup have praised the organisers of the scouting programme. The four-day event which has scouts from Spain in attendance saw 22 players picked with some of them expected to travel to Spain in no distant future.
The Vice-chairman of the Lagos State Footballer Association, Liameed Gafar, described the tournament as another youth empowerment. “Good tournament, it’s about youth empowerment, youth development,” he said “There were 16 teams, but it was not just about them alone, it’s about the talent selected, this program is not all about winning, it’s about what is next for the boys.
“If you look at the scouts from Spain, a president of a club, a chief scout from Barce- lona, they have selected about 20 boys, which they will look at again, get visa for them, take them to Europe and before you see it, there will be top talents from Lagos City Cup featuring in the LALIGA.”
One of the scouts, the president of the Atletic Sant Just, Pep Palacious, said they got more than they bargained for at the tournament. Palacious added that the championship is just the be- ginning as they are going to return to Nigeria soon for another programme.
He added: “This one is too much but just the beginning, we have been able to see more footballers, the final was a good one with young players leading their team to victory.” The convener of the tournament, Vice President of Ikoro- du City FC, Sanmi Doherty, said he wasn’t expecting the outcome while thanking the teams that took part in the competition.
