…as ex-international, Mutiu Adepoju hails initiative
By Sade Williams
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAA), has said that it is currently nurturing players in its football club to fit into the national team in no sooner time.
This was disclosed by the director of Commercial and Business Development, Sadiku Rafindadi, who represented the Managing director, Saleh Dunoma at the Authority’s 2017 Unity Inter-directorate Football competition held at the premises of Murtala Muhammed Airport School, Lagos on Wednesday.
Rafindadi, who said the aim of the competition is to foster unity among workers of the Authority, also said the purpose of the initiative from the onset was to groom the youths who can play football for bigger leagues and clubs, adding that FAAN will not relent in its quest to form a national team.
“The purpose of the game is to foster unity among the directorates, it is FAAN against FAAN, we are still one. We are trying to form a team not only the one that can represent FAAN alone but Nigeria as a whole, that is our primary aim, it’s a family game, it’s a unity game and it’s a game that everybody will enjoy. We also have Basketball game as one of the sporting activities.
“We are hoping to achieve a situation whereby some of them can be taken to the national league or national team and there are prizes for winners.
“We want to make a national team out of FAAN’s club, we want to be in the national media as an entity that has interest in youth and sports, we want to take it to national level”, he said.
Also speaking, ex-Nigeria international, Mutiu Adepoju, who was invited to grace the occasion and encourage the players, lauded FAAN for the initiate, adding that organisations like it should emulate such programmes that will uplift the youths.
“Football is a global thing, though they are playing it for fun but I was invited to be an observer and encourage them and I commend FAAN for deeming it fit to organise a game like this, it is good to encourage the youths which I think other Agencies in Nigeria can emulate to take the youth from the streets. There is need to look out for the younger ones to give them a desired future’, he said.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Human Resources (DHR) won the 2017 competition and went away with N1.2 million (FAAN donated N700, while Sulah Alhaji Anka, a bureau de change operator added N200), Managing Director, Saleh Dunoma FC came second and was given N700, 000 (Sulah added N200,00 to FAAN’s N500,000) while the Directorate of Airport Operations was in the third position. It got N300,000 cash prize (Sulah in his philanthropic gesture, also added N100,000 to FAAN’s N200,000).
