A privately run sports facility in Command, Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, has been upgraded with the completion of a five-a-side football pitch following a partnership between mobile phone brand TECNO and the proprietor of the Alade Sports Complex, Prince Babatunde Alade.
The pitch, located at Ajasa Ikola within the Alade Sports Complex, was opened for public use on 24 December 2025, several months after TECNO and Prince Alade signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing both parties to the project.
The development comes shortly after TECNO commissioned a separate football facility at Sura, Lagos Island, delivered through a public-private partnership with the Lagos State Government. Unlike the Sura project, the Ajasa Command pitch was executed through collaboration with a privately owned community sports centre that has operated for nearly 25 years.
The Alade Sports Complex has been owned and managed by Prince Alade, who has maintained the facility independently, focusing on grassroots football development and youth engagement in the area. The newly completed pitch replaces older playing surfaces and is intended to support training, competitions and talent discovery within the community.
The commissioning ceremony was attended by community leaders and representatives of TECNO, including the company’s Marketing Manager, Mr Olumide Yomi-Omolayo, as well as residents of Ajasa and neighbouring areas.
Speaking at the event, a community leader from Amikanle, Elder Philip Ajayi, said the project had brought a sense of inclusion to residents of the area, noting that communities such as Command are often excluded from major sports infrastructure projects.
“This facility is a source of pride for us. Infrastructure like this is rare in grassroots communities, even though there is no shortage of talent,” Ajayi said.
He also acknowledged the role of Prince Alade in sustaining the sports complex over the years, describing him as a grassroots coach and talent developer whose efforts have produced national-level players.
“Two former Golden Eaglets players, Basit Ojediran and Tijani Samson, who featured at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil, were discovered and nurtured through the Alade Football Academy,” he stated.
According to Ajayi, the partnership with TECNO has helped strengthen a local football structure that had previously relied on personal funding and limited resources. He added that the project could improve the long-term viability of the sports complex and expand opportunities for young players in the area.
The Ajasa Command pitch is the second football facility completed under TECNO’s current sports-focused corporate social responsibility programme, with additional projects expected in other parts of the country. The company is also involved in football sponsorship at the continental level, including support for the Africa Cup of Nations.
