By Basking in the euphoria of a successful hosting of the last qualifying match of the Super Eagles of Nigeria in their AFCON 2022 campaign, the Centre of Excellence as Lagos is also known appear set to take on more of such events in the nearest future.
Speaking after the Nigeria and Lesotho game at the newly grassed Teslim Balogun Stadium, the Director General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Toyin Gafaar Bolowotan stated that the match was merely a litmus test to prove that Lagos was prepared to take on bigger events.
“Today’s match has proven that Lagos is not just paying lip service to it’s aim to become the sports hub of Africa, we are actually walking the talk and the thousands of people here from across the continent and those who watched at home can bear witness to that,” Bolowotan said.
He declared further that in the coming weeks, the state will be rolling out series of activities and events that will further solidify the claim of being the emerging continental sports city.
The Director General however stated that all of these wouldn’t have been possible but for the commitment of the Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who is dedicated to use sports as a catalyst to development especially where the youths are concerned.
According to Bolowotan, “Mr Governor is leaving no stone unturned in his quest to achieve his THEMES agenda and he isn’t joking with sports. He has said it times without number that he is ready to provide everything we need to stay ontop as the hub of sports not just in Nigeria but in Africa”.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria returned to Lagos for a competitive game after two decades and the excitement couldn’t be curtailed as witnessed by the fans who ignored Covid-19 protocols despite the several warnings to troop to the streets in happiness after the 3-0 lashing of the Southern African football team.
Lagos also recently instituted three new sports associations making them the first in the country have ESports, Netball and Cheerleading as established government supported forums.
