By Arinzechi Chukwunonso
The Board Member and Chairman of the Women’s Football Committee of the FCT Football Association (FCT FA), Dr Pat Ajuma Ayegba, has reaffirmed the association’s commitment to grassroots football as a pathway for identifying, nurturing and developing the next generation of female football stars.
Ayegba stated this on Friday at the opening ceremony of the second edition of the FCT FA Women’s Inter-Area Council Football Tournament at the Area 3 Pitch, Abuja, saying the competition was designed to provide young girls across the Federal Capital Territory with a platform to showcase their talents and pursue careers in football.
The FCT FA Women’s Football Committee Chairman, who is also President and Founder of HerGame Foundation, said the tournament was already yielding positive results, with several players from last year’s inaugural edition returning stronger, more confident and better prepared.
“We see girls that played the same tournament with us last year that have come up better and stronger this year. This gives us immense joy that we are doing something good,” Ayegba said.
She explained that the decision to adopt a home-and-away format was deliberate, noting that it would take the competition closer to communities while creating greater opportunities for young girls to participate in organised football.
“Our main objective is to get more girls from the street while they see the beauty of the game. We intend to make a lot of girls build a career out of this and groom them for future and better opportunities,” she added.
Ayegba also highlighted the growing impact of grassroots development, revealing that players who passed through HerGame Foundation programmes had progressed to Nigeria’s youth national teams.
Recalling a recent training session of the Nigeria U-17 women’s national team, she expressed delight at seeing several players who had previously participated in the foundation’s programmes.
“We didn’t push, we didn’t do anything. All we needed to do was give them the platform to showcase their talent. The coaches were here to select these players, and they are doing fantastically well,” she said.
The second edition of the tournament features teams representing all six Area Councils of the FCT, with Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) making a flying start after thrashing Gwagwalada Area Council 7-0 in the opening match.
The colourful opening ceremony featured a ceremonial kick-off by the Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Hon. Hulayat Omidiran, alongside FCT FA Chairman, Abba Mukhtar; Acting Director of the FCT Sports Department, Iyiola Ogundele; FCT FA Board members and NTA Sports General Manager, Kayode Adeniyi.
