Kunle Adelabu
Mr Jelili Adeniran Ogunmuyiwa (FIFA), who was recently re – elected as the Training and Development Officer of the Lagos State Football Referees Association (LSFRA), has reinstated his commitment to ensuring that Referees in the state have good fitness level and proper development.
Ogunmuyiwa, who was elected alongside others last weekend, received the FIFA badge for the 15th year and emerged as the joint longest serving Beach Soccer Referee in the world.
He spoke with THE IMPACT in a chat during the week on the plans of the new council on the development of members.
“My feelings couldn’t be short of being sweet because it is a call to service and to do more”, Ogunmuyiwa said while reacting to his re – election.
“Let me first congratulate all the elected officers and appreciate the entire football Referees community in Lagos for trusting and believing in our team by ensuring we are returned for another term in office. This shows we performed expectedly to their yearnings and we are ready to consolidate on that in this new dispensation.
“We started it in 2018, when we were given the opportunity to be elected as the State Training and Development officer alongside my able assistant, Olajide Elijah Olayinka. We knew the task ahead of us and we carried it out to the best of our abilities with the total support of the chairman Engr. Adams Salauddin.
“Going forward, we have a very big task to ensure the quality fitness level of our members and ensure we drive more developmental training in terms of technology, to the state”, he said.
He assured that Ikorodu and members of the Ikorodu Referee Society will benefit from the state association’s development plans.
Ogunmuyiwa also revealed that the association and the society in Ikorodu are working with the Director – General, Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), Mr Toyin Gafaar Bolowotan, in ensuring that the redevelopment of the Igbogbo Stadium where construction works have been stopped for some months, is completed and not abandoned.
“It is no gainsaying that nothing I become without the impact of my immediate community, Igbogbo, and Ikorodu at large. Definitely, all our programmes will surely have impacts on the development of the game of football in Ikorodu and development of the Referees. With the assistance of the Director General Lagos State Sports Commission, Hon. Oluwatoyin Gafaar who has always being the main sponsor of lots of my developmental programmes right from when I was the chairman of Ikorodu football Referees Society…”, he said.
“We are working alongside with him to ensure that Stadium in Igbogbo is completed in good time so that we can bring most of our seminars, trainings to Ikorodu which will have all referees in Lagos in attendance, including best instructors in Nigeria, and our people here will be privileged to watch us do these and learn from the programmes”.
Speaking on his feats of being badged by FIFA for the 15th year running, the highly rated Igbogbo – born Referee said that plans are on to detect more talents to take over from him and others.
“Alhamdulilahi for the feat. I never expected it but getting it makes me believe every other person can achieve it. Plans are in top gear to discover more talents and impact more on them. Days ahead will reveal lots of what’s in stock for young ones coming up particularly in lkorodu, and for beach Soccer in general”, he said.
