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One of the passions of Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola is sports, specifically football.

Since he assumed
the reins of leadership in Lagos he has tried to sustain the momentum
of sports development, which went into high gear in the closing days of
the Bola Tinubu administration.

His passion for
developing sports at the grassroots is easily seen in his support of
initiatives like the Principals’ Cup as well as the transformation of
sports facilities like that at the Campos Square as well as the
completion of the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

An avid football
fan he never passes an opportunity to play the game and has helped in
no small way in the rehabilitation of some former footballers who would
have faced starvation but for his intervention.

That is why the
organisation of the Lagos International Youth Cup, which ended
yesterday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium is very embarrassing to say the
least.

The tournament was
designed to be forum for youngsters to express themselves and afford
the state government an avenue to nurture a new generation of players.

But what we saw during the tournament has left a sour taste in our mouths.

For a tournament,
which had been on the cards since last year, with the state government
reported to have paid sixty thousand Euros (over N11 million) to each
of the three invited teams from outside the country, it was irritating
to see teams playing to empty seats in the stadium.

Dropping the ball

According to the
plan for the tournament, secondary school students who are presently on
holiday and who live around the vicinity of the stadium were supposed
to have been mobilised to fill the seats in the stadium if for nothing
else, at least to encourage the young players strutting their stuff on
the pitch.

So what went wrong?
Who dropped the ball? Who were the officials that allowed the sorry
spectacle of youngsters looking to make their mark in the game, some of
whom travelled thousands of kilometres to come to Nigeria for a
tournament to play in a stadium completely devoid of spectators?

It is disheartening the way we do things in the country. We have a habit of making simple chores appear extremely difficult.

If the officials to
whom Fashola entrusted the assignment of organising the tournament knew
they were racing against time, why didn’t they ask for more time. Some
of these officials were in South Africa to witness the World Cup and
they could not have failed to have notice how Danny Jordaan and his
team mobilised South Africans for the tournament to the extent that
long after the South African national team had been eliminated, players
were still playing before large crowds of spectators.

In a country where
children are passionate about football it is sad that organisers could
not get them into the stadium to watch their peers. Go through the
inner streets of Lagos and you will see children playing football with
just about any object imaginable. In Surulere, where the Teslim Balogun
Stadium, venue of the tournament is situated, it is common sight to see
clusters of lads knocking the ball around, so why couldn’t they lure
them to watch the action in the stadium? Was it that there was
insufficient fund for publicity or a few individuals among the
organisers decided to be smart?

Carrying the can

The embarrassment
was not limited to the organisation of the tournament. In terms of
performance, the Lagos state team was thoroughly outclassed. The
humiliation of the Lagos squad was underscored by a 7-1 drubbing by
South Africa’s Super Sport United in their second game after they had
been beaten 2-1 by Liberty FC of Ghana.

Now, it is not
criminal to lose matches. Even the best of teams get beaten now and
then. What is unacceptable about the performance of the Lagos team are
the excuses being advanced. Coach of the squad, Joe Erico, speaking
after the loss to Liberty United said his team lost because he did not
have good knowledge of his players as it was only put together 12 days
before the tournament commenced.

He said players were in school and so could not come together before the time they did.

Twelve days to prepare a team for an international football
competition for which the Lagos State government had committed millions
in taxpayers’ funds! It is simply criminal. Was the Commissioner of
Sports aware of this? If he was and allowed this to happen then he
should rightly hang his head in shame. If he wasn’t then it shows he is
not on top of things. Either way, the buck stops on his table. He
should carry the can.