MTN Lagos Street Soccer produces Nigeria's youngest referee

15th December, 2010 - 3:06 PM

The ongoing MTN Lagos Street Soccer Champions, Season 3, has produced the youngest referee ever in the history of Nigerian football. He is 17-year old Jimoh Abubakar. Speaking on this unique discovery, General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria Communications, Kola Oyeyemi, said we are very enthusiastic about empowering our youth in the area of their passion so that they become assets to the nation and able to make meaningful contributions to its development.

According to Oyeyemi, The discovery of Jimoh Abubakar, from Surulere, Lagos, as the youngest referee to officiate in Street Soccer Championship, is a practical demonstration of the positive results that our efforts at getting youths off the streets are yielding. This is in keeping with the essence of the Street Soccer Championship initiative which is youth empowerment. Oyeyemi stated that the expectation is that this humble beginning will create learning opportunity for Jimoh and other youths that share similar passion to be exposed to the rudiments of the game and be able to officiate at both national and international competitions in the near future. On his part, the Chairman of the MTN Lagos Street Soccer Championship Organizing Committee, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladeji noted that the positive impact of this initiative on the youths in Lagos State cannot be over-emphasized. He remarked that since the inception of the competition three years ago, a growing list of success stories showcasing how MTN is empowering the youths through football has continued to unfold. Alhaji Oladeji explained that aside from Jimoh, there are other young talents like Ruth Okafor, a female referee, who have been given intensive training on the basic knowledge of match officiating and other aspects of football to enhance and equip them for smooth management of football matches. The MTN Lagos Street Soccer Champions under the auspices of the Lagos State Ministry of Sports, Youth and Social Development is now in its third season. The tournament is providing employment opportunities to about 700 young people over the next three months in addition to the 5,550 players who would be participating in the competition on behalf of the 555 teams spread across the state.