June 26, (THEWILL) – Dr Paul Edeh, Chairman of the Benue State Football Association (BSFA), has sworn in newly elected Local Government Football chairmen, urging them to prioritise grassroots tournaments to uncover talent and elevate Benue State’s standing in global football.
The State chairman performed the ceremony in Makurdi on Thursday, noting that the days of depending on already made footballers are over, stressing the need for everyone in the nooks and crannies of all 23 Local Governments of the State to be interested in football to have the opportunity to showcase their talent.
“I believe the inauguration of the chairmen today will help us to push football at the grassroots to an enviable level. I, therefore, urge you to organise tournaments that will give equal opportunities to all grassroots players to participate actively in tournaments so that at the end of the day, the best of the best can be selected to play for the State”, he stated.
He explained that out of the 23 Local Government areas, only 18 chairmen who participated in the election were inaugurated, and that the Benue State Football statute conferred on the state leadership of BSFA to conduct elections for local government chairmen when their tenure elapsed.
According to him, in the remaining Five Local Governments that are yet to conduct elections, a caretaker committee will be appointed pending the conduct of their elections, hoping that in the next two years, the chairmen will be able to produce the best talents.
The former Chairman of the State Football Association, who doubles as the first female speaker of the State House of Assembly, Chief Mrs Margaret Icheen, admonished the new chairmen to take bold steps to reinvigorate and revive football activities in the grassroots
She lamented that though Benue had been at the forefront of football, BSFA had never gotten any subsidy to boost its activities as it is done in other States of the Federation.
She identified a lack of home support as one of many reasons that led Lobi Stars Football Club to relegation, saying playing at home can also boost players’ morale and encourage them as well.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Creativity, who is also the Chairman of Lobi Star football club, Dr Philip Nongu, assured that the Ministry would continue to guide, support and assist the local chairmen where necessary to ensure the development of grassroot football in the state is reactivated.
According to him, he has sent all the coaches across the 23 Local Governments to hunt for players, saying the state has good players that can take Lobi to the continental at the Local level, hoping that Lobi Stars Football club will soon bounce back to national recognition.
