The Ondo State Government is prepared to enter into a partnership with the English Premiership side, Arsenal, in a bid to facilitate the development of the round leather game in the state.
Governor Olusegun Mimiko made this disclosure during the visit of the Arsenal FC team to his office on Monday.
Mimiko said that if the partnership move becomes a reality, it will hasten the development of the game in the state and Nigeria as a whole.
He said: “Partnering with Arsenal Football Club will be another step towards sports development in our state.
“I am particularly impressed and interested in Arsenal development programme.
“It will be a good thing to partner with a club like Arsenal that is a global brand.
“Our partnership with Arsenal will add a global value to our darling team, Sunshine Stars of Akure, and we are ready to deploy our resources to make the partnership work.
“Many talents abound in Ondo State.”
Speaking earlier, Arsenal Liaison Officer, Marl Ellis, thanked the people and government of Ondo State for their hospitality.
Another member of the Arsenal team, Andrew Douglas, who is the manager, United Kingdom and Internal Soccer schools of Arsenal, disclosed that the English premiership side has over 30 soccer schools in over 20 countries across the world, including Asia, Europe and Thailand.
Douglas said that the Arsenal team, as part of the visit to Ondo State, will inspect sports facilities and hospitals in the state.