By Maduabuchi Kalu, Lagos on October 12, 2016

Chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission, Deji Tinubu, has ruled out the possibility of the state owning a Premier League Football team now or in the near future. He said the state will only ensure that the enabling environment is created for private investment and ownership as it is being practiced the world over.

Tinubu spoke while recently fielding questions from sportswriters at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere-Lagos.

He said that Lagos believes that the enabling environment should be created to enable every sport thrive and football despite being a very popular sport in the state or country but believes that should not be the reason why the state focused solely on it to the detriment of other sports. Speaking further, Tinubu said it does not make any meaning if Lagos has a Premier football team and does not have in other sports saying every sport should enjoy the support of the state government because Lagos want to be recognised as the mecca of sports in the country.

“As much as football is probably the most popular sports, we have many other sports. So, we are not going to say that because we don’t have a football team in the Premiership that every other thing should go to sleep,” Tinubu stated.

He further said: “We will continue to encourage those things; we will continue to encourage those teams who are vying to get into the Premiership as much as we are doing the same to every other sport in Lagos.

“We have other countries or cities that don’t have football as their No. one sport but they still grow up. So, we just continue working with the clubs and to see the best way we can support them to either come back or remain in the Premiership.

“I think the sporting trend now is moving towards private investment and private ownership with the government creating the enabling environment and I think that we will continue in that vein to see how best we can support the private initiatives and I think that at the end of the day; it is better for a state to support private organisations than to own a football teams because like I keep saying, football is just one sport.

“If we say that we own a football team why don’t we own other teams in other sports? So, I think that will account to counterproductive. Therefore, I think we just stick to what we know how to do best and again, I think this is a very good time for sports in Lagos.”

Continuing Tinubu explained: “We have a governor whose vision on sports is so on point. We have a governor who supports our initiatives. We have a governor who midwives what we do. We have a governor, who even has ideas that we haven’t even thought of.

“So for sports to thrive, for us to have a proper sports culture in Lagos, for sports to develop and you know for the sports industry to kick start in Lagos, everything is left for us to maximise the opportunity that His Excellency has given us.”

•Photo shows Deji Tinubu.

Source Daily Sports

Posted October 12, 2016

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