NSC, Edo FA promise to adopt Kadiri Ikhana Football Academy

NSC, Edo FA promise to adopt Kadiri Ikhana Football Academy

The Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC) as well as the Edo State Football Association have promised not only to support the newly launched Kadiri Ikhana Football Academy (KIFA) but to adopt it as a model for future development of academies in the country.

The NSC DG, Honourable Bukola Olopade, who was represented by one of his aides, Ebidowei Ebikagboro at the official launch of the academy in Auchi on Saturday, lauded the former Green Eagles for initiating the project, saying that the Commission is going to adopt and nurture it to achieve the intended motive.

"We are happy that a person in the calibre of coach Kadiri Ikhana, a man who not only won the first Africa Cup of Nations as a member of the 1980 Green Eagles but also the very first coach to win for Nigeria, the then elusive CAF Champions League with Enyimba of Aba.

"The academy is our baby and we shall adopt it. We're happy the academy is combining football and schooling. We, however want to charge the students to take seriously the academic alongside football. The NSC will definitely support the project," Olopade assured.

On his part, the chairman of the Edo State Football Association, Fred Newton, through a representative, said coach Ikhana has not only started an ingenious football academy but shaping the future of youths in Edo State.

"I'm happy you've decided to impact your football knowledge to the youth of Edo State. While we will support you meet your target, I want to praise you for the success and the expected lasting impact it will bring to not only Edo North but Edo State as a whole. We're fully behind you in this journey," Newton said.