An exuberant grassroots football coach in the Ijeshatedo area of Lagos, Lateef Gafaru (aka Tunde), has revealed how he ventured into training young boys in the area through a process that happened like a miracle from God.
‘Coach Tunde’ told Sports247 that he never played football when he was younger, but he could analyse matches very well, and he often ran mock commentaries when youngsters were playing games on the street.
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He soon started gathering boys to play friendly matches at a small pitch called Fashola Garden near the busy market of an area in the community known as Powerline.
‘Coach Tunde’ told Sports247 in an exclusive chat that the process through which he became a tactician made him name his team Miracle Football Academy when he officially started operating fully as an organised squad in 2011.
“It’s God’s grace that made me a coach. I started by watching boys play street games in my area in Ijesha. I would just stand there and give instructions to them.
“One day, I chose a set of boys because they were losing, and I started giving them instructions. Suddenly, they started scoring, and they won the game. That’s how they all started calling me coach,” Gafaru disclosed.
He thanked all his boys and their outstanding playmaker from Jigawa State, Usman Muktar, for being very obedient and allowing him to guide them in the best way possible.
Gafaru also thanked one of his friends, Jamiu Toheeb, who also coaches a team called Great FC at the same pitch, which he says they are ‘just managing’ because it is only big enough for five-a-side games.
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