A UEFA-certified coach, Lawrence Okonji, has opened a football camp at the Ansar-Ud-Deen Grammar School, Surulere, Lagos, with the aim of unearthing and developing football talents in the school’s immediate community.
 
The boot camp, a collaboration of Play More Academy and Ansar-Ud-Deen High School Old Students Association (AHOSA), is featuring over 30 young talents who are being trained by football and lifestyle coaches.
 
Speaking on the programme, Okonji explained that he runs similar boot camps in other parts of Lagos State, adding that his aim is to build the competitive spirit in kids, ensure they become team players and make them inclusive in the community.
 
He also said that he wants to use football as a tool to foster growth, keeping the children away from things that can endanger their lives.
  
“This is my alma mater. I was part of the 1989-1994 set. My organisation is into football, and I believe that the first place to exhibit and give back is where I started from.
 
“I have programmes for over 1000 kids in Nigeria, but we have less than 40 students in the boot camp today because of the holiday. This is the beginning, and more will come up. I am currently selecting under-17 and under-19 to play professional football in Europe,” he said.
 
Also speaking, Principal, Ansar-Ud-Deen Grammar School, Surulere, Badru Habeeb Adeniran, said: “This boot camp means a lot to us. We have talents, and we have to use our talents to get results from them. I am a sports person; we have three domains in learning, cognitive, affective, and psychomotor, and the psychomotor domain relates to sports.