National Teams
Beach Soccer: Clarion call for return of Copa Lagos
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
There has been a clamor for the return of the hitherto held Copa Lagos beach soccer tournament.
A member of a popular Sports Whatsapp page has called on major stakeholders to work towards resurrecting the competition.
A clarion call was made on the Chairman of Lagos State Football Association, Hajji Laimeed Gafar to bring back beach soccer to Lagos state.
It also called on the National Sports Commission (NSC), under the leadership of Mallam Shehu Dikko and Bukola Olapade, to help reignite the passion birthed by Copa Lagos.
The call was made on the birthday of CAF Director of Competitions, Samson Adamu.
Copa Lagos was organized by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) in Lagos, Nigeria, from 2011 to 2019.
Nigeria Beach Soccer national team has won three of the eight previously organized Copa Lagos in 2011, 2012, and 2013.
Cote D’Ivoire won two titles in 2014 and 2015 before Switzerland, Spain, and Senegal emerged as champions from 2016 to 2019, the last time the tournament took place.
Copa Lagos was organized in a league format with the team with the highest points clinching the title apart from 2016 when Switzerland beat Nigeria 8-3 in a one-off final.
The competition, which was organized annually, was marred by entertainment, fun fare, and fanfare, majorly during the festive season.
Lagosians and Nigerians await the return of the tournament in the future.
With the return of beach soccer in Nigeria’s frontline sports after five year hiatus and a running league since 2021, bringing back Copa Lagos tournament will boost the profile of the game in the country.
