I have fresh and bigger ideas for football development in north-east
The commissioner of Youth Affairs in Gombe State and an aspirant in the forthcoming Nigeria Football Federation elections, Malam Farouk Yarma has said he is coming with fresh and bigger ideas for the development of football in the north-east zone. In this interview with Trust Sports, the former Executive Chairman of Gombe State Sports Commission said he will give priority attention to grassroots football, if elected.
First and foremost, I am an avid supporter of football in my zone and by extension Nigeria. I am a major stakeholder in Nigerian football. Beyond this, I want to make more contributions and this will be possible, if I am part of the highest decision making body in Nigerian football. I believe there are certain contributions I cannot make until I am part of the board of the NFF. It may also interest you to know that I am one of the few private club owners in the country. For over a decade now, I have been sponsoring my club, FC Yarmalight. Through this club, I have touched and I am still touching the lives of so many youths who are talented in football but lack the means to pursue their dreams.
My football activities go beyond Gombe State to other states in my zone. I have been very consistent in sponsoring grassroots football competitions in the north-east. Don’t forget I was the pioneer Executive Chairman of Gombe State Sports Commission. When I held that position, Gombe State was the hub of sports in the north-east. We hosted so many sporting events. In addition, I have been supporting football stakeholders in my zone to develop themselves. I don’t have to go into details but I have helped many to become match commissioners and referees. In addition, I have friends all over the country. I have been rendering help but it is not an issue of mentioning names.
The two board members from my zone, Alhaji Babagana Kalli who is the FA Chairman of Borno State and Alhaji Musa Duhu who is also the FA Chairman of Adamawa State have been doing their best for football in the north-east zone. I appreciate their contributions. However, this is a democratic setting where there is always room for others to come in. There is room for others to come in with fresh ideas for the development of the game. I am not saying they have failed but I have bigger and fresh ideas to move football in the zone to higher heights.
My emphasis will be on grassroots football development. I know that when we develop the youths, we are going to have a brighter future. As the serving Commissioner for Youth Affairs in my state, I know exactly the potentials of the youths in my zone. They can achieve things well above our imaginations, if they are provided with the enabling environment. So I will redouble my efforts in the area of grassroots football development and empowerment of football administrators. I will ensure we have regular grassroots competitions and our referees as well as administrators will have access to refresher courses and seminars. I will support them to help in driving my vision for football development in the north-east zone.
How popular do you think you are with the NFF congress?
Most members of the congress are my friends. They all know that I am a stakeholder in the game. I am not an outsider. I know them for long and we have been mingling right from when I was the General Co-ordinator of Gombe United and when I was with the Nigeria Ports Authority football club in the same capacity. I know them and they know what I can offer. Moreover, I am sure the delegates will go for qualitative representation and if that is the case, I believe they will not overlook me. I deserve to be on the next board of the NFF.
As you are aware, there is freedom of speech. People look at things differently and say things the way they see them. One thing I know for sure is that even before they became board members, most of those on the NFF board had been making contributions to Nigerian football. However, you cannot stop people from making criticisms and comments that may not be correct. I don’t think most of the people who are presently vying to be on the board are doing so because of money. This is about selfless service. If it is about money, someone like me has been spending his money for over a decade to support this game. I have used my funds to develop and prepare myself for leadership. I have attended several international football seminars in order to upgrade and keep myself abreast of current trends in the game. I took my team FC Yarmalight from a non league side to the national league before we were relegated. Now we have gained promotion back to the national league. All these things cost a lot of money. I don’t think I am going there because of money. I am going there because of my passion for the game.
There are lots of challenges. Even government clubs are struggling not to talk of an individual who is using his hard earned and meagre resources to invest in