Mallam Idris Abdullahi: Kwara State FA chairman highlights plans for new tenure

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Chairman of Kwara State Football Association (FA), Mallam Idris Abdullahi Musa has promised to continue his grassroots football development plan in the state.

Abdullahi popularly known as Thuraya got 19 votes out of 23, to beat Engr Abdullateef Olaide Ahmed to secure his re-election for the second term in office as the State FA Chairman.

He was first elected into office in June 2019 beating the likes of Alhaji Sulaiman Toyin Olokoba, Engr Idris Jibril, and Alhaji Abdulrazak Adebayo Owolabi Agbji Wopa to emerge as the first person to win the election from Kwara North.

“What I have for football in Kwara is to put forward the achievements the board has before particularly the development of football at the grassroots,” Thuraya told Diamond FM Ilesa.

“Seeing that all facilities in the state are in good shape because, without facilities, there is no grassroots. We also want to try as much as possible to see Kwara on the map of the world, particularly on the map of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

“Kwara has not been on the NFF board before and I would try as much as possible to see that Kwara has that representation so that we would be able to help our coaches, young players to the national team, our referees, and all football stakeholders so that we also we will have the taste of how it is being done at the top.

“Here at home, apart from adding to the good works we have done in the past four years, we would not relent to see that we have more than 200% of what we have done before.

“We took football to the grassroots. At the beginning of this tenure, I and my board went straight to all local governments to synergise with them and the Emirate.

“We were able to do that by bringing the whole 16 Local governments in Kwara to Ilorin where we had a competition and were able to identify some young talented players who have done this state proud twice by winning the Ramat Cup. Most of them are playing professional football in Kwara United and other teams around Nigeria.

“We have had the U-15 competition and State League. We have put the NLO teams together and all these teams have identified young talented players so that they would have their future at the professional level. We would try to do more than that looking at the fact that it is not easy for a state FA that doesn’t have money to shoulder programs like that.

“Notwithstanding, this board has tried as much as possible to look for sponsors and these sponsors are the people that put us where we are today. We will look for more sponsorship because part of the responsibility of the FA is to look for sponsors and partners so that it can be able to run its affairs.”

Kwara United last season played its home games in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) in Ibadan and later on in Akure due to renovation at the main bowl of Kwara State Sports Complex.

Thuraya promised that the Harmony Boys would play its home games in Ilorin come next season.

“I have been the FA Chairman since 2019 till date. This will be the first time that Kwara United has not gone on relegation for four seasons. Frankly speaking, the FA is not in charge of a team. We have plenty of teams in the state and Kwara United is part of them,”

“We have clubs in the Nigeria National League (NNL) and plenty in the NLO and academies, but people are always concentrating on Kwara United. We would do our part as the FA when it comes to all clubs in Kwara State.

“As it is now, the league is starting in August and I assure you that Kwara United would play at Kwara Sports Complex’s main bowl.

“I want everybody to be patient and we should all put our hands on deck and work together. We should stop destroying the brand of Kwara State, Kwara FA, and Kwara football. We should put our differences behind us, work together and push football and Kwara State forward.”