By sunday Ani
Ahead of the forthcoming general elections in 2023, the Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare has been urged to urgently look into youths and sports development through grassroots tournaments as a way of curtailing political thuggery.
The call was made by a senior lecturer at the Lagos State University (LASU) and Chairman of Ipakodo All Stars, Dr. Abiodun Fatai, during a novelty match, to mark the opening of a new outlet at Ikorodu by a sports betting company, Frapapa.
Dr. Fatai noted that there was an urgent need for Mr. Dare to reconsider youths and talent development across Nigeria through grassroots tournaments.
“The initiative by Frapapa is unique and should be encouraged by the Minister of Youths and Sports as it affords Nigeria the opportunity to be able to discover talents and bring young people together in terms of engaging them in productive activities where they would be able to display their sporting talents.
“It a very good initiative aimed at developing grassroots football. There is a need for the government to create a platform where young people would be engaged in sporting activities,” he said.
Also, the Assistant Operations Manager of Frapapa, Usman Usuf, said: “Going by the current reality in Nigeria, our target is to get youths across Nigeria engaged meaningfully. That will have ripple effects on their immediate families. We thought it wise to engage the community youths, and that is what we are set to achieve across Nigeria.”