Sanwo-Olu Inaugurates 44 Sports Chairmen, Sets Ambitious Grassroots Development Target for Lagos

By Dorcas Francis Koji

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has inaugurated 44 chairmen of sports associations in the state, charging them to strengthen grassroots development, discover emerging talents and create sustainable pathways for athletes to achieve national and international success.

Speaking during the inauguration at Lagos House, Ikeja, on Tuesday, Sanwo-Olu described the appointments as an important step towards repositioning sports administration and development across the state.

The governor tasked the newly appointed sports administrators with setting clear and measurable targets for their respective associations while establishing succession programmes and systems capable of identifying, nurturing and transforming raw talents into elite athletes.

According to him, Lagos’ reputation as the Centre of Excellence must go beyond discovering talented athletes to providing the structures, training opportunities and competitive platforms required to turn promising talents into champions.

“Lagos’ reputation as a Centre of Excellence must extend beyond talent discovery to establishing the necessary structures, training opportunities, and competitive platforms to transform talents into champions,” Sanwo-Olu said.

The governor stressed that sports should not be viewed merely as recreation, noting its potential to promote discipline, education, employment, entrepreneurship and economic growth.

“Sports is not merely recreation but a pathway to discipline, education, employment, entrepreneurship, and economic growth,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu further noted that major sporting events could stimulate economic activity across several sectors, including hospitality, transportation, entertainment, media, technology, fitness and sports medicine.

He therefore called for stronger collaboration between the government and private sector, saying increased private investment would create a stronger and more sustainable foundation for sports and athlete development in Lagos.

The governor also charged the new chairmen to prioritise transparency, accountability and discipline while ensuring that their associations maintain active and consistent competition calendars.

He urged them to create greater opportunities for women, girls, persons with disabilities and other underrepresented groups in sports.

Sanwo-Olu said the performance of the chairmen would ultimately be assessed by the athletes they develop, institutions they strengthen, records they break and champions they produce.

“Their success will be measured not by the duration of their tenure but by the athletes developed, institutions strengthened, records broken, and champions produced during their tenure,” the governor said.

He pointed to Lagos’ recent performances at national sporting competitions as evidence of what can be achieved when talented athletes receive the necessary support and functional structures.

The governor also highlighted Lagos’ hosting of the National Intermediate Games as part of the state’s broader efforts to strengthen its leadership in sports development and provide young athletes with opportunities to showcase their abilities.

The Director-General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Lekan Fatodu, said the inauguration reflected the administration’s commitment to building a stronger sports sector in the state.

Fatodu stressed that government alone could not develop Lagos sports, calling for deeper partnerships among government agencies, sports associations, athletes, coaches, corporate organisations, schools and local communities.

“Government alone cannot develop the state’s sports sector,” Fatodu said.

He described the newly inaugurated chairmen as critical links between athletes and their respective sporting communities, with responsibilities ranging from talent identification and athlete development to organising competitions, strengthening technical capacity and creating pathways for athletes to compete at higher levels.

Speaking on behalf of the chairmen, Lagos State Athletics Association Chairman, Dr Solomon Alao, said the new leadership was committed to supporting the government’s vision for sports development.

“We are committed to supporting the government’s vision for sports development,” Alao said.

He said the inauguration had boosted the chairmen’s confidence in the administration’s commitment to sports associations and pledged that the new leadership would work towards delivering credible, progressive and impactful results.

Alao added that the chairmen were motivated by the confidence placed in them and were prepared to work collectively towards improving outcomes for athletes while advancing the growth of sports across Lagos State.

With the new leadership now in place, expectations will be high for the 44 sports associations to translate the administration’s vision into concrete programmes that can discover more talents, strengthen grassroots structures and produce athletes capable of representing Lagos and Nigeria on the international stage.