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Lagos FA Disowns Greensprings School Over Withdrawal From Etisalat U-15 Tourney

By Gowon Akpodonor
25 April 2015   |   5:02 am
Lagos State Football Association has distanced itself from Greensprings School, Lekki, following its withdrawal from the 2015 Etisalat U-15 School Cup.
Football- image source noshahronline

Football- image source noshahronline

Lagos State Football Association has distanced itself from Greensprings School, Lekki, following its withdrawal from the 2015 Etisalat U-15 School Cup.

The school had pulled out from the competition on Thursday alleging “unfair and unjustifiable” treatment meted out to its pupils in the competition. The tourney ends today at the Campus Square playing ground in Lagos.

Greensprings Director of Education, Harry McFaul, signed the letter announcing the school’s withdrawal from the tourney.

However, a board member of Lagos FA, Dotun Coker, yesterday distanced the body from any action taken by Greensprings School saying: “Lagos did not withdraw from the Etisalat U-15 tournament. Whatever statement from Greensprings School must be in error.”

Earlier, the President of Nigeria School Sports Federation, Mallam Ibrahim Mohammed, had carpeted those who want to use over-aged pupils to win the tournament at all cost.

“The objective of this tournament is to expose the children and also teach them how to be honest, but not to win at all cost. The NSSF did not receive any protest letter from Lagos State concerning the screening we carried out on the pupils,” he said.

The Lagos State representative, Greensprings School, had lost two matches, 0-1 to Ondo and 1-2 to Kaduna before its withdrawal from the competition.

“I am sure Lagos State is looking for a way to discredit the competition since they are no longer in-charge of the oraginsation,” an official of NSSF told The Guardian before the semifinal event yesterday.

The winning team is expected to get a cash price of N2m as well as N50,000 worth of scholarship for each member of the team.

Meanwhile, the Head, Events and Sponsorships Etisalat Nigeria, Modupe Thani, has reinstated that the body remain committed to grassroots sport development in the country.

“We are passionate about the children. This competition is not about winning, because every participating team is a winner. The competition is about building friendship through football and building the moral of the students,” Thani said.

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