FCT FA chairman wants SWAN awards revived

. says his board, media are partners-in-progress 

. Abuja League to resume July 

By Taofeek LAWAL 

The chairman, FCT Football Association (FCT FA), Mohammed Mouktar has called for the revival of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) awards in the FCT saying it will go a long way in encouraging sports writers to give their best to the profession at all times. 
Mouktar stated this on Saturday while receiving on a courtesy visit, the chairman of the FCT chapter of SWAN, Bunmi Haruna, his executives and other members in his Old Parade Ground Area 10, Abuja office. 

According to the FA chairman, the FCT SWAN  under Haruna should operate an open-door and transparent policy that will not only build the confidence of his colleagues in him but will also attract young, mobile, upcoming and fresh practitioners to the profession. Mouktar said as the watchdog of sports in Nigeria, SWAN has a critical role to play in sports development in the country. 

He said, “The media is the watchdog of the society and particularly SWAN is the watchdog of sports and in sports football is number one. You have a critical role to play in the development of sports in Nigeria. I understand the strength and importance of the media because it is the most powerful tool in the world and as media, you remain the medium to project any positive things about Nigeria to the world. I want to call for the resuscitation of the FCT SWAN awards. The awards will always encourage sports writers to do more. While the veterans and the established ones will continue to give their best, the upcoming ones will be encouraged to do more bearing in mind that their efforts will be rewarded at the end of the day.”

Mouktar, who described his board and SWAN as partners-in-progress, said the three main cardinal objectives of his administration has been infrastructure development, development of manpower and the revival of all age-grade football competitions in the FCT. He said the FCT FA among others has done a lot to attract sponsorship for the Abuja Football League, sponsored 50 coaches to the Nigeria Institute for Sports (NIS) from all the Area Councils in the FCT. He promised that his board will continue to do more saying the support of the media cannot be overemphasised in achieving his board’s goals. 

He said the Abuja League will resume in July as soon as the Nigeria National League (NNL) are concluded. He listed weather and lack of facilities as reasons for the late commencement of Abuja League. 

“The FCT League will commence in July, 2021. The late in commencement of the league was due to the fact that we don’t want a situation where teams will be playing on the turf at 1pm or 2pm when the weather is too hot. That is not good for the health of the players. Also, don’t forget that we have four teams playing in the NNL in Abuja. They all use the same venue for their league games. This will make it difficult for us to schedule games of about 80 clubs who are willing to register in this year’s competition to play on the same turf,” Mouktar said.

 The FA chairman also promised to sponsor  SWAN Cup,  seminars and training within Nigeria and the African continent for FCT SWAN members.

The FCT SWAN chairman, Bunmi Haruna, in his remarks said the sports writers will give all the necessary publicity for the success of the Abuja League while adding that his board will always be part of sports development and growth in the FCT.