Mercenaries
By Yetunde Fatungase
Abeokuta, April 9, 2018 (NAN) The Ogun State Government has warned Principals of secondary schools in the state not to engage mercenaries during the Season Six of the GTB/Ogun Principal’s Cup Football Competition.
The Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Afolabi Afuape, in a statement on Monday in Abeokuta, added that government would not hesitate to sanction any school which engages in using mercenaries.
The warning was in the wake of a meeting he had with the competition’s organising committee.
The committee comprises staff of Ministries of Youths and Sports, Education, and Science and Technology as well as the All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), Ogun Chapter.
“The purpose of the competition is to discover talents which will make the state and the nation proud in the future,’’ Afuape said.
He warned that any principal or school found to be involved in age cheating, impersonation or use of mercenaries would be banned from participating in the competition for two years.
The commissioner said this was for the objective not to be defeated,
“Age cheating, impersonation and use of mercenaries can be very disturbing and it is an issue that is affecting sports development, particularly the football game, and it has eaten deep into our national teams.
“To eradicate or reduce this to the minimum, we must start with this kind of competition, in order not to defeat the beautiful purpose of the game, as it is specifically for talents discovery,” he said.
Afuape said the state would ensure that any talent discovered during the competition would be nurtured and monitored.
“This is to enable him make either the under-17 or under-21 national team in the future,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the preliminary games of the competition will begin by the end of April.(NAN)
YAF/ESAN/OLAL
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(Edited by Abiodun Esan and Olawale Alabi)