Lagos State Cricket Association Schools Development Programme
LSCA Chairman's Speech
at the Lagos Schools Development Programme Launch 15th February 2024
Protocol
The Director General, Lagos State Sports Commission The Directors Lagos State Sports Commission The Director, School Sports The Directors Lagos State Schools Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Education The President Nigeria Cricket Federation Management staff of the Nigeria Cricket Federation Our esteemed sponsors Officials of the participating schools Members of the fourth estate of the realm Ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you to this groundbreaking event which has significant importance to the development of the sport of cricket in Lagos. Today's launch event is the first of two, geared towards the introduction of the sport to circa 1,000 students between the ages of 4-12, at 20 representative schools on the Lagos Island and Mainland cutting across 3 LGEAs (Eti-Osa, Lagos Island & Surulere). It is indeed heartwarming, a source of delight and pleasure to witness a teeming number of kids derive great pleasure and fun in a convivial atmosphere with positive energy applied to the learning of a new sport which would play a pivotal role in the building of their character in the years to come.
NCF Strategy & Objective (AGM 2023)
Built around the following pillars: 1. participation growth 2. financial sustainability & infrastructure 3. deep engagement & brilliant experiences 4. developing talent Target is 1 million participation base in the sport by 2026. LSCA is committed to supporting the cause by meeting and exceeding its assigned quota of 300,000 participants in view of its enviable status as an important hub. As a matter of fact, this initiative ticks 3 of the 4 boxes outlined above.
Cricket Architecture in Lagos
Central theme - the building of skyscrapers on scorecards. A re-jigging of the administrative superstructure for the sport is underway with junior and female cricket receiving greater attention and resources. Club Cricket Committee (CCC) to organize and run the senior league Schools Cricket Committee (SCC) to organize and run the schools league
Tournaments
Lagos Senior Cricket League - Male & Female Lagos Schools Cricket League - Primary & Secondary
We will blaze the trail to become the first state in the country to run gender inclusive cricket leagues at the primary and secondary school levels as well as the senior levels.
Logo/slogan
"Lagos Cricket Reignites" speaks to the good old days of the dominance of Lagos State at the National Sports Festivals of the 1970s & 1980s at the intermediate and senior categories with strong representation in the national team. Changes in the policy of the LSSC with a move away from the retention of permanent staff as coaches to an ad hoc approach of tenured contract coaches as well as the lack of funding support led to a decline in the dominance of the State.
The logo design is unique with a fusion of:
1. a youngster in an attacking shot pose – participation growth to deliver talent development & nurturing to maturity
2. a cricket ball with flames – the spread of the sport like wildfire (inclusion in PE lessons & Clubs) – deep engagement & brilliant experiences
3. set against the skyline of Lagos – emphasizing the background of excellence for which the State is known and the central theme of building skyscrapers on scorecards
Acknowledgment of Sponsors
We are eternally grateful to our sponsors – the Lagos Cricket Stakeholders and the Sagoe Family Foundation for their noteworthy investment in junior cricket equipment
(starter packs) to the combined magnitude in value of circa N12m in 450 starter packs. This is no doubt a major enabler and catalyst to the propagation of the sport in the state and demonstrates unequivocal and strong support for the LSCA and its developmental initiatives. The LSCA assures the sponsors of tangible commensurate returns on their investment in the short and medium term with clearly outlined performance metrics and reporting.
National Development Officer
Permit me the use of this medium to introduce Mr. Friday Udoh, the NCF National Development Officer designate for Lagos. He assumed duties on 4th January and has been seamlessly integrated into the technical set up for the administration of the sport.
Conclusion
I would like to acknowledge the following: LSSC Director of School Sports Lagos State Ministry of Education SUBEB
for their kind cooperation in making this event the success that has been recorded today. It is a testament to the power that can be unleashed in intra-governmental collaboration for the benefit of our local communities and Lagosians at large.
The LSCA remains the body saddled with the responsibility of the development of the sport of cricket within the state and counts on the support of MDAs and other agencies of the LASG in the discharge of this and ensuring all activities in this regard are brought under its purview and oversight.
Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your time.
Kofi Sagoe
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LAGOS CRICKET STAKEHOLDERS(LCS) AND LAGOS STATE CRICKET ASSOCIATION (LSCA)
The DG, Lagos State Sports Commission(LSSC);
Other Directors of LSSC;
Chairman and other Board members of the Lagos State Cricket Association(LSCA);
Chairman, LCS Board of Trustees;
Principals/Heads of schools;
Chairman and members of the Lagos Association of Cricket Umpires & Scorers(ACUSN);
Members of the Press;
State Coaches and School Games masters;
Participants from schools
Ladies & gentlemen.
It gives me great pleasure to represent Lagos Cricket Stakeholders(LCS) at this flag off event of the LSCA Schools Development Programme. Here with me today is our Welfare/Socials Secretary, Alhaji Haruna Garuba.
As the LSCA Chairman has advised, this is the commencement of a bold attempt to reintroduce the game of cricket back in primary and secondary schools in the state in a strategic and methodical manner aided with the use of colorful ready-to-use plastic kits that will capture the kids’ imagination and interest.
We at the LCS want to congratulate the LSCA for walking this path in a bid to meet the developmental goal of introducing the game to 1,000 kids at two events one here at TBS and another next week at the University of Lagos Cricket Oval.
These events are preparatory to the larger objective of introducing the game to up to 250,000 students in various schools in Lagos by 2026.
It is true that since the commencement of the game of cricket in Nigeria in 1904, Lagos has always played a leading role not only on the field but also in its administration. Indeed the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval remains the home of cricket in Nigeria and has featured significant domestic and international matches since 1904 and up till about 2014 also served as the Headquarters of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF)
It is also true that in the last few years, Lagos State has lost its pride of place as the foremost cricket playing state in the country hence the importance of the project that the LSCA is embarking today of taking the game back to the grassroots and for which the LCS is happy to associate with.
The LCS was established in 2021 to bring together Lagos indigenes and others interested in supporting Lagos Cricket. Its primary objective is to support the LSCA in its responsibility of popularizing the game in the state in a bid for Lagos to regain primacy in the sport again at no distant future in light of dwindling government support to sports generally and to cricket in particular.
In the last few years, the LCS has wholly sponsored the LCS Female T20 Cricket Tournament to establish a framework for female participation in the sport in Lagos. This is the flagship LCS sponsorship and a male variant will be explored as soon as possible. The distinctive feature of this tournament is that teams are representative of the following divisions of the state - Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, Ibeju-Lekki and Epe in a tacit reminder that the game needs to be spread all over the state to harness more talent.
Of recent, the LCS sponsored the 2023 Annual Technical Seminar and Awards event of the Lagos Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers(ACUSN) to encourage quality officiating of the game in the state in a strategic collaboration and is pleased with the co-opting of the Chairman of the Lagos ACUSN onto the Technical Committee of the LSCA in recognition of the importance of its role in the sport.
Thus, the LCS has donated to the LSCA 150 sets of plastic cricket starter kits for distribution to schools to enable state coaches and schools games masters impart mastery of the game to students with ready-to-use implements. These kits cost approximately N2.6m and come in three sizes for three different age groups from Primary to Junior Secondary School students.
We are delighted to be a part of this project and look forward to seeing results from it in the next few years. It is noteworthy that at the U17 level, the LCS has collaborated with the LSCA in putting together a Lagos Colts Cricket Club that has participated in the Lagos League for two seasons now and the learning achieved by the young men and the improvement in their approach to the game is remarkable. These are the kind of projects that the LCS is interested in partnering with the LSCA within its financial capacity.
On a last note, LCS encourages the LSSC to grant more support to the LSCA not only financially, but also in the composition of its Board with cricketers, as it takes these giant strides in spreading awareness of the game.
Thank you all
Owolabi Oduguwa
Vice Chairman, Executive Committee
Lagos Cricket Stakeholders
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SAGOE FAMILY FOUNDATION(SFF) AND CRICKET IN NIGERIA
The DG, Lagos State Sports Commission(LSSC);
Other Directors of LSSC;
Chairman and other Board members of the Lagos State Cricket Association(LSCA);
Principals/Heads of schools;
Chairman and members of the Lagos Association of Cricket Umpires & Scorers(ACUSN);
Members of the Press;
State Coaches and School Games masters;
Participants from schools
Ladies & gentlemen.
I am delighted to represent the SAGOE FAMILY FOUNDATION(SFF) at this launch of the LSCA Schools Development Programme to which we are proud to be associated with. With me today is the Secretary of the SFF, Mr Ekor Anthony.
The history of the Sagoe Family’s involvement in cricket in Lagos and Nigeria spans over a century and three generations of the family.
Indeed four different members of the family in three generations have represented Lagos State and Nigeria in the game at its highest levels as follows:
1. Peter Kweku Sagoe
2. Alex Kwamina Sagoe
3. Michael Kwesi Sagoe
4. Ayodele Kofi Sagoe
Not only have they played for the state and country but two have occupied the position of Chairman of LSCA, one has been privileged to serve as President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation(NCF) and Chairman of the Africa Cricket Association(ACA) whilst one was honored with a National Sports Award in 1988 for services to cricket in the nation. Finally two have represented West Africa at the sport.
Such is the wealth of the family’s involvement in the sport that within the last few years it has made manifest its continued commitment to the game with the following interventions:
1. Match ball sponsor of the Club Cricket Committee, Lagos League in the last two seasons with the provision of 300 branded match balls per season for the execution of the league in Lagos
2. Provision of playing jerseys, kitbag and shoes for members of the Lagos Colts Cricket Club, an U17 development side of the LSCA participating in the CCC League.
3. Sponsorship of the Abeokuta Invitational Schools T20 Cricket tournament in the last two years
4. Donation of kitbags and coaches kits to the LSCA
5. Partner sponsorship of the NCF Women’s International T20 Tournament in the last two years.
The SFF is pleased to continue its commitment to cricket with the donation of 300 plastic cricket starter kits to the LSCA for onward distribution to selected schools in execution of its Schools Development Programme which aims to introduce cricket, in today’s event on the island and another next week on the mainland, to 1,000 new students in the state in an immediate thrust. The midterm objective is to introduce the sport to up to 250,000 students by 2026 in a bid to source for new talent for both Lagos State and Nigeria.
These 300 starter kits cost all of approximately N5.2m and come in brilliant colors that are designed to capture the interest and imagination of the young ones.
On a final note, the SFF is happy to associate with the LSCA on this bold programme to re-introduce the game to schools all over the state in a strategic and methodical manner. We appeal to the LSSC to support the LSCA and this programme in particular which brings together Schools Education and Schools Sports structures of the state.
The importance of sports as a unifying tool in the country cannot be overemphasized and we are reminded of that by the recent pursuit of excellence of the Super Eagles at the recently concluded AFCON tournament in Cote D’Ivoire. Therefore, there is no time better than today to invest in both education and sports in the lives of our youth.
Thank you all
Kolapo Ademola
Vice Chairman, Management Committee
Sagoe Family Foundation
