Lagos has made historical past — the Lagos State Sports activities Fee has formally unveiled a groundbreaking partnership between the Lagos State Authorities and UK-based Abbey Rangers Soccer Membership, setting a brand new customary for grassroots soccer improvement in Nigeria.
The alliance — the primary of its form between Nigeria and a UK neighborhood membership — guarantees to open worldwide doorways for younger athletes and coaches, creating unprecedented pathways for coaching, mentorship, and international publicity.
Underneath the strategic pact, Abbey Rangers FC will collaborate with the Lagos State Sports activities Fee on a strong seven-pillar framework centered on expertise improvement, teaching enhancement, sports activities science, neighborhood engagement, coverage help, useful resource mobilisation, and infrastructure development.
This holistic mannequin goes far past soccer coaching — it lays the muse for a sustainable sporting ecosystem that nurtures technical schooling, participant welfare, and profession development.
The partnership will roll out state-wide scouting programmes in faculties and communities, with scholarships, mentorships, and improvement initiatives connecting rising gamers with skilled coaches and function fashions.
Talking on the unveiling, the Director Basic of the Lagos State Sports activities Fee, Mr Lekan Fatodu, described the partnership as “a landmark step in Lagos’ mission to construct a sustainable and inclusive sports activities ecosystem.”
He added, “This partnership represents a deliberate effort to attach Lagos with international finest practices in grassroots soccer improvement. Abbey Rangers brings confirmed experience and community-driven values that align with our imaginative and prescient to boost world-class expertise.”
Fatodu additionally praised Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his unwavering help and funding in sports activities, saying the initiative displays his dedication to youth empowerment, neighborhood improvement, and financial progress.
Abbey Rangers Chairman Nick Riley hailed the collaboration as a bridge between cultures, noting, “We’re proud to accomplice with Lagos State on this visionary initiative. Neighborhood soccer has the ability to create inclusion, alternative, and lifelong impression — and this partnership embodies that spirit.”
With this historic deal, Lagos State is positioning itself as a continental mannequin for grassroots sports activities excellence — the place each younger athlete can dream, develop, and thrive
