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President- General of Nigeria Football and Other Sports Supporters Club, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo, has called on governments at all levels to pay attention to the grassroots, where a lot of talented youths reside.
Speaking during the 2016 inaugural lecture of the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, Ladipo regretted that Nigeria, which used to be the fifth best team in world football, is now in the 52nd position.
He said: “We must all work together to make sure that Nigeria regained its rightful place in sport. Nigeria has a place in football. We were the fifth best in the world some years ago. Unfortunately, we are now in the 52nd position, which is a far cry from what it should be. We should work together and try to identify talents. We should nurture them from the youth to become stars.”
Ladipo also advised that the youth should be exposed to training that will help them to develop their skills and talents in football.
“We should know that football is a game of the youth. The moment one has attained the age of 35 the person can no longer play any good football because your soul would be willing, but the body will be weak. We must go back to how we got those stars and celebrities that once made us proud,” he said.
Ladipo described Professor Kolawole Adebayo, a Professor of Rural Development Communication at FUNAAB, who presented the 52nd Inaugural Lecture on: ‘Mercenaries and Merchants: The Dialectics of Rural Development in Nigeria,’ as a strong member of Nigeria Football Supporters Club, saying the youths have a lot of things to learn from him.
