Lagos pledges support for Stationery Stores FC’ return

LAGOS State government has pledged support for the resuscitated darling team of Lagosians, Stationery Stores FC saying that the team has become a brand in Nigerian football which must be sustained.

According to the state’s Commissioner for Sports, Barrister Wahid Oshodi, the exploits of the ‘Flaming Flamingoes’ founded in 1958 by the late Chief Israel Adebajo will always be a reference point in Nigerian football.

“We are going to look at the ways we can support the club, it might not be in terms of direct financing but definitely we are going to support the club. Infrastructural support is the most important thing to be assured of a conducive atmosphere to play home matches in terms of good pitch, adequate security, medical facilities and so on, including the required knowledge to make the club successful which we have to do.

“Yes, we can look at the aspect of funding when required but I think the proper way is to get a group of business-minded people in Lagos to pull resources and run the club and make some money out of it. We have over 21 million people in Lagos and definitely we should be able to run a football club in a way it will sustain itself in the near future,” Oshodi said.

He noted that the feat achieved by Stationery Stores by producing 10 players for Nigeria’s senior national team at the 1968 Mexico Olympics will remain indelible in the history of Nigerian football.

“The impact Stationery Stores have made on Lagosians can not be quantified. This is a club who produced 10 players for the national team in a single competition and this record has stood the test of time which Rangers among several clubs have tried to equal without success.

“This club is a legacy by Chief Adebajo who lived all his life in Lagos and must be cherished. You can only talk of Stationery Stores when talking about traditional clubs in Nigeria such as Rangers and Shooting Stars. We are going to work closely with the owners of the club to ensure that everything works out well. The return of Stationery Stores is a great one for soccer fans in Lagos and a plus for Nigerian football. I appreciate others who run clubs in Lagos State and we are going to give them support as well.

“I’m fairly confident that we will get it right this time for Stationery Stores to continue to exist in memory of its founder. We shall continue to emphasise the importance of this Stationery Stores to Lagos and why the club must be kept alive in memory of its founder. In fact, the family of Chief Adebajo is also mindful of what the club stands for in the history of Lagos and its sustenance. This is a club that produced several legendary players for Nigeria aside winning laurels on the home front and making impact also on the continent,” said Oshodi, who is also the president of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF).

It will be recalled that Stores last featured in the Nigerian league in 2004 and in continental championship in 1993 when they lost in the semi-final of the CAF Champions League to Zamalek FC of Egypt on 3-2 aggregate.