In just over a year, Sporting Lagos announced their coming from the NNL to the NPFL by upsetting the champions and creating rivalry in the southwest. But how will the club fare as they begin life in the top flight? ABIODUN ADEWALE reports
The astonishing rise of a new football club, Sporting Lagos, has sparked a new impression of structure, followership, branding and even rivalry in the Nigerian domestic football scene. So much that it makes a lot of people wonder if Nigerian club football has attracted such attention recently.
Aside from being a software engineer, Akinlade prides himself as someone who builds platforms for a living and in a six minutes and 58 seconds video which was used to announce the birth of the club on February 3, 2022, the young entrepreneur passionately explained how the memories of the USA 1994 World Cup and the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games inspired him to explore opportunities in football, not as a player, but as an owner.
The club surely had a tough start to life in terms of results but a culture had begun among their tiny followers. Luckily for them, their darling team also escaped relegation into the Nationwide League One by just goal difference after their first campaign in the second tier. While Enakhena holds a popular place among sports fans, the coach of the team Paul Offor will need a background check to be sure if he could carry the weight of the brand.
“Being Sporting Lagos player is not just about playing for the team. There is also a psychologist who talks to us about our lives, especially when we are going through anything. They do a lot for us even as it concerns planning for life after football,” he added.In the space of two years, Sporting Lagos fans have built a community which they call ‘Happy Corner’ on every match-day. The convener, Bamiji Ojo shared the inspiration of the movement with our correspondent.
Among these fans, there is one who is called the noisemaker of Sporting due to his energetic display on match-days. But beyond blowing vuvuzela every match-day, Olasunkanmi Oladejo sees the reason to own part of the club. Nwoke also saved a crucial penalty against Stormers FC during the NNL playoffs in Asaba to ensure his team sealed their NPFL ticket with a 2-0 win over the Abeokuta side.
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