A pivotal part of any sports structure or scheme requires attention at all levels of the game, most especially the ‘grassroots’- which is often neglected but plays a crucial role in the landscape of the nation. It gives the people hope and preaches the key notion that truly ‘Everyone Can Ball’ once given the platform to play the beautiful game.
The 17th December 2022 saw CAMPO, a new-school street football community aiming to expose Nigeria’s football culture team up with BallOff Global Agency, an experienced forward-thinking sports agency focusing on sports development in Nigeria, to organize the inaugural edition of a unique 3-aside football tournament at Grenville School in Ikeja GRA, Lagos state.
CAMPO co-founder, Dolapo Kola-Daisi stressed that the motivation behind this ingenious idea was to put a spotlight on footballers who don’t have the opportunity to showcase their talents, with CAMPO being the vehicle to gift these players the exposure not only to the rest of the country but to the world.
BallOFF, celebrating its 10th anniversary, has prided themselves with promoting grassroots football through annual tournaments, thus it felt appropriate that they would mark the milestone by hosting such an event. “Football tells the best stories” stated BallOFF co-founder Folajimi Ayodeji, and this latest edition featured all the chapters to deliver a classic tale!
The event was a grassroots development football competition that featured eight teams from all across Lagos state, evenly split between both genders in a round-robin tournament format. With a whopping N100,000 cash prize for the winners of their respective competitions, little more incentive was needed to turn up and perform.
The male category, which featured four teams including Immaculate football club, Lake Side FC, Victoria Sports FC, and Ghetto Tigers FC was nothing short of a masterpiece. It was dynamic, fierce, and tactical with all teams showcasing their talents and techniques on a uniquely chosen hard surface. Most players battled barefoot, adding to the originality of street football, which was there for all to experience. The referees were busy as tensions boiled over in the latter stages of the tournament but stood brave and assertive on their calls. The Ghetto Tigers FC club clinched the trophy and grand prize in the most dramatic fashion- a 3-2 penalty shootout win vs Lakeside FC following a thrilling 3-3 game.
The female category of the tournament also featured four teams from around Lagos, including Dream Star Queens FC, LakeSide Queens FC, Oasis football club, and Ijamido Queens FC. This was not without its fair share of drama — the medics were made to work, and the fans were treated to numerous scintillating finishes. The attacking prowess of Dream Star Ladies FC was evident from the off-winning one of their group games 9-1! Thus, it was little surprise they ended up going all the way to win the female tournament, beating Lakeside Queens 4-2 to secure the grand prize.
This tournament had it all quality, passion, intensity, and goals! One aspect that particularly stood out was its adaptability to the street football culture, one which aligns with the vision of CAMPO co-founder, Baderin Tejuoso, who spoke on how the storytelling initiative of the team was inspired by street football.
“The aim is to highlight the individual stories within the Nigerian football sphere — our particular focus is street football, which has inspired this flagship tournament. Playing on the pavement, just like as we grew up, and bringing smiles to the faces of every child was one of the drives for this event.”
Plaudits and appreciation were poured onto the organizers, with Uzoma, team captain of Victoria Sports FC, praising their culture of promoting street football in Nigeria.
“A great experience overall and it’s a nice one, especially for most of us that are yet to experience something of this nature.”
Answering a question on the creation of awareness for grassroots sports, Uzoma stressed how this serves as a platform for development.
“This event has helped improve us and our development, teaching us a lot of new things we didn’t know — and asides from the fun we are having currently, it’s a good avenue for development and growth in our careers.”
Captain of Immaculate football club Nduka David echoed these sentiments of the event and spoke of how the event serves as a means of exposure to all participants as well as its importance towards the development of grassroots football.
“We all came out to win and though we haven’t won, we are glad we can participate in such a beautiful initiative.”
“This event will help us as individuals, it’s the first time we are playing with cameras around, it feels like all eyes are on us and it has helped with our confidence for the future.”
This tournament was an important reminder that sports is not only utilized as a means for competition but more significantly, a vehicle for social development. Providing a platform for people to play the beautiful game takes their attention away from the hardships of life, and keeps the youth disciplined and motivated, away from a life of violence and crime. Initiatives and sports clinics fashioned like this have to be treated with high priority by both the private and public sectors. With Nigeria being a nation blessed with talented athletes, the next step is to provide the right facilities and means to nurture and enhance talents. We have a long way to go but with the likes of CAMPO and BallOFF advocating and hosting such events, we are (fortunately) on the right track.
