It was a historic moment on Saturday 26th of December when Ex-Pro Footballers reunited and honor grassroots coaches in Kwara State for their contributions towards their careers with major football competitions during the time inclusive.
Speaking on behalf of Ex-Pro at the reunion and award ceremony, Bolaji Gobir said the group of retired footballers decided to have the reunification in order to reignite their camaraderie and foster unity among themselves.
'Ex-Pro Footballers is the combination of both who play football at the grassroots in the '80s and 90's prominent among the competitions in those days are
Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON) and 321 tournaments" Gobir said.
The LOC Chairman added that the main purpose of the reunion is to see how they can assist one another in identifying who needs what and how to go about it.
"We want to also use the opportunity of this event to recognize a few of our coaches who contributed to our football careers when we were growing up and to equally recognize YSFON and 321"
Also speaking at the event as the guest speaker, Chairman, Kwara YSFON, Prince Ademola Kiyesola who received the award on behalf of his organization commended the ex-stars for recognizing the impact of YSFON and all other awardees in their respective careers.
Likening their gesture to a river that doesn't forget its source,
he described it as a rare virtue that will continue to inspire people to do more for the development of grassroots sports.
The awardees include,
1- Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria,(YSFON) Kwara Chapter
2- The '321' football tournament organiser.
3- Coach Oluwasegun David of Red Rangers FC
4- Coach Daniel Azera -Orient FC
5-Coach Folohunsho Hassan – Folley Babes FC
6-Abdulganiyu Bolarin -Liverpool FC
7-Coach Funsho Rasaq- International FC
8-Coach Oba Kushi -Santos FC
9-The Badas – Juventus FC
10-Coach Umar Suleiman -Great Wonders FC
11- Coach Kabiru Dogo- Flying Stars FC
12-Coach Laro Ajadi – Manchester United FC
13-Coach A. A Malik United- Bombers FC
14- Coach Abdulkadir A. Shuaib- Flash Bombers FC
The reunion and award ceremony which held at the Kwara State Stadium Complex also witnessed a novelty match that ended 1-1 between all the players who were divided into two teams- Team White and Team Blue.
Among the members of the Ex-Pro footballers are Isiaka Olawale, the Nigeria Beach Soccer team captain, Waheed Bello, Chief Coach of Crown FC, Funsho Mohammed, General Manager of Gidado FA, Lukman Ijaiya, former Kwara United striker, and a host of others.
Guests at the event include Kwara State Director of Sports Council, Alarape Atanda, Sportspro News Publisher, Bayour Issah, YSFON National Officer, Ahmed Abdallah, Kwara YSFON Secretary Ayinde Wahab, Sportspro News photographer, Ojomu Idowu among others.
