Special Eagles Captain wants amputee football in Sports Festival

The Captain of the Special Eagles, the national amputee football  team, Lekan Sarafadeen, has urged the sports ministry to include the sport at the National Sports Festival.

Amputee football came into existence in Nigeria, in the mid-2000s, but the sports came to national limelight in 2018 after the national team’s appeal for funds to attend the 2018 Amputee World Cup in Mexico.

Afterwards, Super Eagles players contributed over N6m to help the team participate at the 2019 Amputee Nations Cup in Angola.

The team, who finished second in Angola, with players idle due to a non-existent domestic league.

Sarafadeen said plans were in place to intimate the ministry on the need to include the sport in the national biannual sports event.

“Our aim is to have amputee football included in the next edition of the NSF and we are already taking steps to ensure that this is possible,” he said.

“We aim to meet the ministry and discuss this, but it’s been difficult to see the minister (Sunday Dare) since we returned from Angola in 2019.

“The inclusion will go a long way in enabling the footballers and increase the presence of the sport in the country,”Sarafadeen  added.

NP/Mercy Chukwudiebere