Sports
PHOTOS: 3SC Opens Academy with 176 students
•Oke, Owolabi, Akande, Adepoju harp on discipline
IT was a gathering of old, young and budding football stars on Saturday afternoon when Shooting Stars Sports Club, 3SC football academy was inaugurated inside the main bowl of the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan.
About 200 prospective students and their enthusiastic parents were in attendance to witness the august gathering which also attracted all other stakeholders.
In his address of welcome, the club’s Executive Chairman, Gbolagade Busari said the young players should count themselves lucky for stepping into one of the legendary club sides in Africa.
He added that with a dint of hard work and discipline, the world would soon celebrate them as prominent footballers.
“You are going to be fulcrum of Shooting Stars. You are going to be the prayers we are looking for in the future to wear the jerseys of the club. And from there, it will be a platform to be known all over the world while the sky would be the limit”, Busari concludes.
The head coach, Edith Agoye while explaining the rudiments of the academy project, said its programme would be fashioned after an England Academy model of physical corner, technical corner, tactical corner and social corner especially for the U-13 & U-15 categories as basics for their learning process.
He therefore, urged the parents to compliment the efforts of the coaches in moulding these youngster to stardom.
For the club’s legendary players and coaches like Niyi Akande, Felix Owolabi and Mutiu Adepoju, they advised these youngsters to make hard work and discipline their watch words while they commended the management for the initiative which they believed is long overdue!
In his own speech, the commissioner for youth & sports, Mr Abayomi Oke explained that establishment of the football academy is a way of creating a proper vision of culture, character and discipline for the club by nurturing home grown stars as it operates in other climes especially Europe.
He added that the academy is self sustaining hence all stake holders should work for its survival even after that the current management .
Oke further disclosed that this official inauguration notwithstanding, the management would still pay adequate attention to further screening of the students to avoid any form of age cheats an other inadequacies.
In their reactions after collecting their notification letters, some of the parents lauded the management on the event and the proper take off of the football academy with assurance that they would not be found wanting in their efforts at supporting the project.
However, the general manager of the club, Mr Rashidi Balogun appreciates the parents for bringing their children into Shooting Stars family with a promise that all the students will be giving a conducive atmosphere to excel.
Meanwhile, the training session will commence on Tuesday morning, 17th April, 2018 for the categories in U-13, U-15, U-17 & U-19
Other stakeholders at the event were SA to the government on youth & sports, Hon Bolaji Afeez Repete, Professors, EmiOlohun Ayelari, Akinola Alada, Remi Raji-Oyelade, Dr Isiaq Salami, (all from University of Ibadan, general manager, OYSSC, Gboyega Makinde, Oyo FA Secretary, Kehinde Ojelowo, Coach Idowu Oloyede and Chairman Ibadan City Polytechnic, Mr Amos Ajanaku among other.