CitySports Africa, has stated that its vision is to contribute to the development of sports not only in Nigeria but also in the world.
This is according to Chief Executive Officer, CitySports, Shola Opaleye, in a media briefing which took place on Tuesday at their headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Opaleye made this Known as CitySports prepares to mark its 5th anniversary in its efforts to help the gap in sports development all over the world.
According to Opaleye, CitySports is driven by the desire to cultivate a global landscape where sports will be the dynamic force for positive transformation, uniting diverse individuals and communities in a shared journey towards development, empowerment, unity, and unparalleled opportunity.
He explained that the vision behind the creation of CitySports is geared towards the will to empower individuals and communities via sports by providing the right access to comprehensive resources, elite training, competitive platforms, global networking, and also transformative opportunities.
“In the past five years, we have been focusing on the right route to develop sports skills, leadership skills, and academic skills because these are the basic three skills every child needs to attain their potential as they grow up,” Opaleye said.
“Our vision is to contribute immensely to the development of sports in the country and beyond, to give every child the right environment and level playing field to achieve their dreams.
“We have three success stories of students who are now doing great in their craft after going through CitySports developmental programmes, namely: Osaze, a 14-year-old footballer who is currently with Arsenal; Duke, who is doing well at Hull City U19; and one of our products in the Super Falconets.”
Speaking also at the media briefing was head of client service, Amaka Madubuko, who described the journey as rewarding after starting with just 15 student footballers.
Madubuko said it is no small achievement that the company has managed over 1,000 students in different sports like football, basketball, athletics, swimming, and tennis.
“It’s been very rewarding so far; it has been a great journey for CitySports Africa. We started with football with 15 students, but it feels so good to say that in the past years, we now have over 1,000 students in five different sports, namely football, basketball, athletics, swimming, and tennis.
“We have developed special programmes that cater to students irrespective of their skill level. There is what we call the performance academy, which is under football. This is the academy that prepares every student in the programme for collegiate scholarships or professional contracts. CitySports also runs programmes for people from far away who require accommodation. There is a talent trial where people come to us just to know what level they can attain in sports. What we do is put out a performance review and send it to them, and with that, they know what to go for.
“There are two programmes specifically that students lack, which we know can shape the future of our students. Those programmes are the scholarship showcase and the global sports programme. We have been to 9 programmes in the past five years to tell you how progressive CitySports has been. We have been to Spain, Stuttgart, Germany, Portugal, Zutphen in the Netherlands, Man City FC, and West Ham in the UK, and we will be heading back to Salou, Spain in November.
“The global development programmes have actually helped our students develop themselves, as well as through cultural exchange. There are countless opportunities when you have scouts on the ground to see you play. In all, we have taken over 300 students to these global programmes.
She added that for the scholarship showcase, they had a partnership with Gulf United in June, and were able to give out 30 college study-and-play scholarships for UK schools and 20 for US schools and that these students are waiting for their visas to join their colleagues abroad.”
