Lagos State Sports Commission, Erico Foundation Launch Partnership To Develop Youth Basketball Talent
The Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC) has partnered with the Erico Sports Legacy Foundation to deepen basketball development and promote youth participation in the sport across the state.
The Director-General of the Commission, Honourable Lekan Fatodu, disclosed the partnership during a meeting with officials of the Foundation led by its founder, Michael Erico, a professional basketball player and co-captain of Nigeria’s senior men’s national team, D’Tigers.
Michael Erico is also the son of the late Super Eagles coach, Joe Erico.
The partnership is aimed at strengthening grassroots talent discovery and youth empowerment, particularly through developmental sports programmes targeting school-age children.
Fatodu said the collaboration would enable the government to share the responsibility of youth development with private organisations and individuals committed to sports development.
‘As an agency of government, our major responsibility is actually on developmental sports that is focused on grassroots and school-age category potential talent hunt, the area in which Erico Foundation is coming in partnership with the Lagos State Government,’ Fatodu said.
‘This is critical in the sense that youth development cannot be solely undertaken by the State, particularly the Commission.
‘It is advantageous for the Commission to partner with corporate bodies, non-governmental organisations, and individuals of goodwill such as the Erico Foundation, whose activities in this regard have been very impressive with documented success stories.
‘This is how we can drive development, empower young people, and channel their paths away from negativity and criminality.’
The LSSC Director-General also revealed that the Foundation’s basketball clinic scheduled for next week would serve as an avenue for identifying talented players who could represent Lagos at the forthcoming National Intermediate Games.
‘The clinic is structured in a manner that brings a lot of potential talents together, allowing us to identify the best within that age category,’ Fatodu added.
‘It provides an excellent opportunity for our technical team at the Lagos State Sports Commission to sit down with the foundation to identify young people who can feed into the Lagos State team for the Intermediate Games and national competitions.
‘Through this channel, they will also be exposed to international opportunities.’
The Erico Sports Legacy Foundation was established by Michael Erico in memory of his late father, Joe Erico. The non-governmental organisation has implemented several community-impact programmes in Lagos over the past six years as part of its commitment to giving back to the community.
Speaking on the vision behind the Foundation, Michael Erico said the initiative was designed to show young people that sports can provide a pathway to a professional career and a better future.
‘I want to make sure we give hope that sports are not just a recreational thing. It is also something through which you can one day live the dream of becoming a professional athlete,’ Erico said.
“That professionalism can then give back to the neighbourhood, impact the culture, and strengthen the deep resilience that Nigerians are known for around the world.”
He said the partnership with the Lagos State Sports Commission would help expand the project and make its impact more visible, with plans to establish facilities capable of training and supporting young basketball players.
‘Our collaboration with the Lagos State Sports Commission is to make this project bigger and more visible, with the future projection of establishing facilities to train, house, and facilitate how these kids grow in the sport of basketball,’ Erico said.
