AFTER five days of excitement and fanfare under the watchful eyes of coaches from Liverpool and Manchester City, the first annual Greensprings Kanu Football Camp ends today .The clinic, organised by Greensprings School, has Diamond Bank as its main sponsor and Super Eagles' former captain, Nwankwo Kanu, Lagos State Football Association (LSFA) and West African School Sports Union (WASSU), as backers.Over 300 students drawn from public and private schools were tutored on the basics of the game by these top coaches as well as some indigenous coaches led by former national team handler, Joseph Erico.Some of the students admitted that the experience would liger in their memory forever, as they also made new friends in the camp. The Lagos State Government sponsored the students from public schools, while the management also sponsored 20 participants from public schools to the camp.Director of Greensprings School, Lai Koiki, said the camp was part of the school's contributions to the development of Nigerian youths. Koiki, who was inspired by Kanu's genuine passion for the less-privileged in the country, assured that the camp would remain an annual event in the school's calendar.And for Kanu, the camp will help to revive the dwindling fortune of football in the country: 'I am happy that a school like Greensprings has taken the bull by the horn by staging this well-organised camp for school children.'Our football has gone down because we are always looking up instead of looking down, which is the grassroots. The best place we can develop our football is in schools and with what Greensprings has done, I think they have set the pace for other schools.'I will always be part of this initiative, especially because of the facilities in place for the exercise. I commend the management of the school and hope to be part of it next year.'Also, the Chairman of Lagos FA, Seyi Akinwunmi, who also represented the State Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Wahid Oshodi, feels that what the school has done would compliment their efforts at encouraging grassroots football development.The representative of the coaches from Liverpool and Manchester City, Gary Lewis, also noted the enormous talents in Nigeria, which convinced him that many stars would emerge from the camp.Lewis, who spoke on behalf of the foreign tacticians, commended the school for embarking on the project, adding that it would bring about resurgence in Nigerian football.
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