The League Management Company (LMC) has commended the FCT Football Association for its initiative in introducing the Principals Cup in the Capital City.
Receiving the FCT Principals Cup Committee members in their Corporate of Office in Abuja on Wednesday, the Chief Operating Officer of the Company, Mallam Salihu Abubakar said the initiative of the FCT FA is in line with the new policy of the organizers of the Nigeria Professional Football League that has emphasis on ensuring that all the Premier League Clubs in the country have a viable youth development programme. Quoting his words, Mallam Abubakar said ” we have made it mandatory that before we register any of the Premier League Clubs, they must be able topresent to us their youth development programme. We have taken it a step further, by allowing them to register any of such players that graduated from their youths teams to the main team, at any point of the season. This is to give the players from the feeder teams of the clubs the opportunity to be part of the League at any point in time. With these, we would be able give the young players the sense of belonging in the system”.
Continuing, he said “we at the LMC are very proud of efforts of the FCT FA Principals Cup Committee, and the concept of the programme, most especially the idea of allowing the corporate bodies to be part of the programme. This, we want to say, will ensure sustainabilty, transparency and accountability”. He promised that the LMC will surely support the Committee in own ways, while imploring other Corporate bodies to embrace the programme to the totality, as the future gains would surely surpass the immediate”.
Earlier, the Chairman of the FCT Principals Cup Committee, Mr. Patrick Ngwaogu had commended the LMC for the gaint strides they have taken in ensuring that the Nigeria League is equated with what happens in other climes. He said that the recent successes recorded in the League, showed the genuine interest of the League Managers to turn the League around. He solicited for the moral, technical and logistics support of the LMC to ensure that the 2015 FCT Principals Cup is a success. He said that the concept is purely aimed at ensuring that the real age grade players are discovered from the schools, and also returning the glamour that is associated with secondary school football to FCT. He said that tournament will kick off on 12th October, while pre tournament seminar for all the games masters of participating schools will hold on 29th September.
