Omidiran urges FCT FA, Sports Department to prioritize grassroots talent discovery

Hulayat Omidiran, Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), has called for a renewed focus on grassroots talent discovery within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Addressing the FCT Football Association (FCT FA) and the FCT Sports Department during a courtesy visit, Omidiran stressed the importance of making talent identification a priority across all disciplines.

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We have to be intentional and serious, and we have to see sports as something that can make Nigeria richer.

Omidiran pledged the FCC's collaboration to bolster grassroots sports development, youth engagement, and talent identification initiatives throughout the FCT. The discussions highlighted the potential of sports to foster youth development, social inclusion, and broader participation in sporting activities across the territory's six Area Councils.

"We have to be intentional and serious, and we have to see sports as something that can make Nigeria richer," Omidiran stated. She advocated for the establishment and strengthening of functional sports facilities and expressed support for securing necessary institutional and budgetary backing. Omidiran also emphasized the need to integrate sports coaching into schools, suggesting the training of teachers with sports knowledge to become coaches while working towards professional coach recruitment.

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I want FCT to be the arrowhead of any detection of sporting talents, not only football but all sports.

Drawing from her extensive experience as the proprietor of Omidiran Babes and a former executive committee member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Omidiran shared her motivation for involvement in football. She expressed a deep desire to use sports as a vehicle for improving lives, recalling how encouraging girls to play football significantly bettered their circumstances. This personal satisfaction, she noted, drives her commitment to sports development.

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I just wanted to use football to better the lives of some people. I am very happy because so many of those girls are better off; their lives are better because we encouraged them to play football. That is satisfactory to me.