The Rangers International Football Club Foundation has inaugurated a 4-man committee to nurture football enthusiasts to coordinate its Street Soccer League in the Neighbourhoods. Inaugurating the committee in Enugu on Monday, the Chairman of the Foundation, Coach Ebere Amaraizu, said the League would be a catch-them-young programme that promotes resilience among youths within neighbourhoods.
Amaraizu said that Emeka Okeke, a former Crime Busters Football of Enugu player, would be the chairman of the committee, adding that he would supervise the coordinators and matches. He said the League which will commence tentatively on Oct. 20, would be a U-15 boys and girls’ event that would feature many neighbourhoods football clubs.
According to him, it will begin from the Trans Ekulu neighbourhood in the Enugu metropolis as a pilot scheme to other parts of the South-East and the entire country. “The Street Soccer League for Neighbourhood will be used to promote Olympic sports values and will also be used to achieve crucial outcomes.
“It will be used to strengthen neighbourhood resilience, create a platform of self-discovery, and improve mental health and general well-being for these categories of youths. We have also started our mapping and selection of players by our team of Street football League coordinators within our identified pilot neighbourhood, Trans Ekulu neighbourhood axis of Enugu.
“Street football is important because it is an engine for self-discovery and community resilience as many national and international football stars are products of this league. We hope to diversify into other sporting events under the multi-sports activity framework of our partner, Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation for more community impact and a greater society,“ he said.
Amaraizu said that the foundation will stop at nothing with its partners for a collective building of a greater community through various life changing programmes. Responding, Okeke promised to carry out the task of supervising the coordinator and matches optimally to ensure a successful event.
“We are going to stick to the template given to us by the foundation to guide our work. This is to ensure that the League is hitch-free and involve the participation of the greater number of U-15 youths in each neighbourhood.” The Rangers International Football Club Foundation is an initiative of Rangers International FC of Enugu.
