BY SUNDAY AKINTOYE
As hundreds of teams across the country are preparing for the commencement of Nationwide League One, which kicks off on Wednesday, a Lagos-based team, the players of Great Olympics Football Club of Surulere, are in high spirits to confront City Sports Football Club on Saturday at noon at Maracana Stadium, Ajegunle.
Great Olympics is not among the notable clubs in NLO, but they are coming to the league for the first time with a mission and expectations.
Speaking ahead of their opening match, Technical Director, Abiodun Salau, explained that his players and coaching crew are looking forward to their opening match, saying that featuring in NLO this season is to expose and market the players to the world.
“We had a good preparation for the NLO, and we are fully ready to give our opponents a run for their money come Saturday.
“Our coming to the league is to drive change and progress in Nigerian football and within the sport itself, from the community we belong to”, he said.
Salau also disclosed that featuring in NLO is to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the club’s existence and urged the players to give their best throughout the league.
“Like I said before, aside from giving our players the right exposure and creating opportunities to market them, we are equally in the league to mark 20 years of existence in Nigerian football as an academy.
“However, Great Olympics Football Club is our project team to market and expose our academy products to the world. We have our own academy, and players are expected to graduate from the academy to Great Olympics FC,” he said.
Speaking in the same vein, team manager, Seyi Ojo, boasted that the team are in good shape for the league and thanked the management for its support throughout the team’s preparation.