The efforts of Engr Dotun Sanusi, to see to the development of sporting talents is paying off as Ilaji FC, a product of Ilaji Resort would participate in an international tourney later this year.
This much was revealed last week when Sanusi, hosted the president of Swieqi United FC, a professional second division Club in Malta, Mr. Justin Fenech and other officials to a dinner.
Ilaji FC, which has a partnership with the club, would be squaring up against FC Barcelona of Spain and other European clubs from England, Italy and France.
Most of the Sanusi boys will have opportunities of visiting Europe for the first time.
Only recently, at the opening ceremony of the coaching and scouting programne organized by the management of Ilaji Resort, Fenech had declared Ilaji Resort as the right partner the European Club has been yearning to have.
Fenech and 4 other officials of Swieqi United FC were on a 5-day official visit to Ilaji Resort.
The visit, which was part of the activities to foster relationship between Ilaji FC and Swieqi United FC, was also geared towards ensuring that mordern football coaching methodology is imbibed by Ilaji FC Coaching crew in particular and the Nigerian Coaches in general.
Fenech who went down the memory lane stated that the partnership between Ilaji Resort began in 2019, adding, that the outbreak of COVID-19 did not allow the partnership to thrive as envisaged then.
The Swieqi President remarked that the connection with the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Ilaji Resort, Engr. Dotun Sanusi is the best thing that has ever happened to the Club attributing the remarkable growth the partnership has experienced since *inception* to the similar ethos, values and principles his club shares with Engr. Sanusi and Ilaji Resort.
In his words, “having established Swieqi United FC with the help of some university students some years back, our vision right from the inception is to be a Club that will be competing at the highest level but we couldn’t achieve it then due to paucity of fund, however, meeting with Chief Sanusi has enabled us to function at our maximum capacity as we have moved from the fourth division up to the elite division.
“The first discussion we had with Chief Sanusi made everything so easy as we discovered that he shares the same vision, ethos, values and ideals as Swieqi United FC does. Simply put, Chief Sanusi is the right partner Swieqi United has been yearning to have, he concluded.
While delivering his own speech, the Chief Operating Officer, Ilaji Hotels and Sports Resort, Mr. Adesina Araoye, reiterated the commitment of Ilaji Resort towards ensuring that the company is at the fore front of discovering and nurturing of sporting talents to stardom.
Mr. Araoye added further that with the vision statement to be ‘a viable platform to the discovering and nurturing of sporting talents to stardom’, Ilaji Resort will continue to have strategic alliances and partnerships such as the one that brought Swieqi United Officials to Nigeria.
Mr. Araoye continued, “our partnership with Swieqi United FC is a mutually beneficial one. And this is the same kind of partnership we have with other Clubs from Czech Republic, Norway, Finland, Germany and the rest. The partnership we have with Swieqi United FC has resulted into two of our players playing for the Club and they are here now with a view to sharing knowledge with our indigenous coaches on the modern methodologies of football coaching.
“I am enjoying all the participants to have an open mind so as to be able to maximize all the benefits inherent in this coaching exercise, Mr. Araoye concluded.
The 4-day Coaching & Scouting Programme began immediately after the opening ceremony with the coaching Clinic coming first for the first two days while the scouting exercise will begin on Friday and ends on Saturday.
It will be recalled that Ilaji Resort had its first edition of the Coaching and Scouting programme in 2021 with the instructors flying in from Malaga CF of Spain.
Among the dignitaries in attendance at the opening ceremony were; Oyo State Commissioner for Youths & Sports, Seun Fakorede; Hon. Gbenga Adewusi, the Chairman, Oyo State Sports Commission, Mutiu Adepoju, former Super Eagles player and La Liga Ambassador in Nigeria and a host of others.
