For nine seasons, Oluwatosin Ajeigbe has been propelling the Banny Football League (BFL) in Lagos, a community sports initiative which uses football to distract youths from vices on the streets like drug addiction and cultism. He speaks about his passion for championing change via sports in this interview. Excerpts:

Tell us a bit about your background?

My name is Oluwatosin Ajeigbe from Ibadan, Oyo State. I was born on the 29^th of August in Surulere, Lagos. I grew up in places like Surulere, Fadeyi and Iwaya due to my family’s constant relocation through the years, but as fate would have it, we eventually moved back to Banire Street in Surulere, when I was 23.

How did Banire Street spark your interest about creating a sports platform for the youths?

I was introverted; I barely interacted with my peers as I was always an indoors person. But due to my love for football, I would go out to the viewing centre where majority of the youths gathered to watch and banter football issues. Banire is blessed with youths and as I began to interact and relate more, I began to observe that most of the youths had nothing doing and were exposed to drugs and other vices. But football was the only language that brought every group together to discuss, argue and banter. It was during one of our argument sessions between Arsenal and Chelsea fans that we dared ourselves to go and settle our differences on the pitch. After, the fans’ match was played, I realised I could make this a community activity to engage the youths and adults in Banire.

BFL has been on for 9 Seasons, how have you been sustaining it?

Sustaining the BFL has been the most challenging phase of my life due to so many factors, especially the financial aspect. Coordinating the youths is not an easy task. I embraced the challenge because it was what I had passion for. I was just sacrificing the little finance I had just to make the BFL come to life. I would say that the zeal to improve the League in all aspects season after season was a challenge I set for myself and it’s what keeps me going. I didn’t do it alone though, most of the planning, designs, and customization were done by me. I had very few dedicated people who believed in my dream for the BFL and helped me in sustaining the league in the past nine seasons.

Are there times you have felt like quitting?

Yes! So many times I felt like quitting, to be honest. Organising the BFL is very tasking, drains a lot of energy, both physical and mental. When I started the BFL, I used to also participate as a player, before games, I would go to the field early to prepare for the match, then after games, I would hurriedly start designing the result fliers on my phone to post on social media and even write a summary of the matches played so people can read the following day. I was doing this after being exhausted from playing. I kept doing this every match day as there was no one who could design graphics or willing to learn. There are also times for sourcing for funds just to buy our jerseys and balls but the turn up from players were not encouraging and I had to use my money to make the things work despite not being employed at that moment. Even though quitting crossed my mind, I never saw it as an option because of the positive reactions from the players, coaches and fans. The thoughts of seeing them happy and engaged motivated me to keep going on.

Did you have interest in football as an athlete as a child? How far have you pushed the dream?

Yes I always wanted to be a footballer as a child. I idolised players like Kanu Nwankwo and Thierry Henry while growing up and I based my style of play on Henry. I played with a couple of teams as a teenager and also school football matches. Like every other Nigerian kid, I dreamt of going pro but the platform for sports in Nigeria is not encouraging and has killed lots of dreams.

Your decision to start BFL must have met with some level of pessimism from some quarters. How did your parents handle it?

My parents did not know about the BFL till I was for years into it. My parents were aware that I love football so there were no ill feelings whatsoever. My dad knew I go out to play football every Sunday evening but he never knew I was the organiser not until he noticed I was keeping our balls, flag sticks and cones in our apartment which pushed him to ask why I was the keeping them. When I explained what I was doing with the BFL, he became a fan and he chooses his favourite team even though he doesn’t know anything about the team. He also helped me re-arrange our football equipment properly.

Over 500 youths have participated so far. Are there some that have gone from there to play professional football?

We’ve had players who are currently playing in the NNL participate in the BFL. At the moment, we have players who are playing football actively in their various teams pushing their dreams of playing in or outside Europe.

How do teams get rewarded when they win the league?

Surprisingly, the BFL doesn’t award monetary prizes to the winners due to our limited budget. In fact, we have been using the same trophy since Season 3 till Season 9. We started giving out medals to winners and awards to players in season 5. The youths of the BFL only care about playing, jubilating, banters and experiencing the rivalry amongst teams and fans. I always wanted to give monetary prizes but the lack of funds and financial support was our nemesis. In all these, what brings joy to my face is when I see how the youths cherish their medals and are very proud of it. Some players even keep records of their wins, some have never won the BFL and are looking forward to winning it, some tell me they will not rest until they lift the trophy. To them, the BFL is just like the Champions League and this is the feeling I craved to see in them.

You mentioned transfer windows which is quite funny. So what do teams use to attract players to play for them?

Oh yes! The BFL transfer window, this is the most creative and interesting part of the BFL and what makes it special from all local community leagues. The BFL consists of two competitions, the BFL and the BFL Cup which feature four European-like teams playing in the league mode where all teams play one another twice and the team with the highest points are crowned champions, while the BFL Cup is a semi-finals knockout between the four teams and the two finalist face each other after the league round is over. The BFL is played every Sunday evening, after the first round of the league the BFL transfer window opens the following day which is on Monday and lasts till Saturday of that week before the match day on Sunday. This is the period where all teams are eligible to sign two players each to their teams before the second round begins. I introduced the BFL transfer window in Season 4 because I wanted everyone to experience a feeling of what goes on in the real football world, all the transfer rumours we read in the papers and on our phones were happening before our very own eyes. I wanted the youths and coaches to see what I imagined creatively and also live it in reality. Since I introduced the BFL transfer window, it has given opportunities to lots of youths to join the BFL mid-season. Youths keen on joining can always get across through our socials @bannyouths on Instagram.

What efforts have you made to attract sponsorship for this laudable project?

Attracting sponsors has been very hectic and challenging through the years. I emailed and messaged lots of companies and brands but got no response, the ones who managed to respond didn’t have plans for sponsoring. Maybe I wasn’t doing it well because I was the only one writing letters and doing most of the funding before I sought advice from a couple of friends and we tried different approaches but still didn’t get any attention. I’m still optimistic that we will get the attention of some brands.

Where do you hope to take this league to?

I haven’t even implemented half of my creativity for the league yet due to sponsorship and finance. I see European teams partnering with the BFL while using their teams here in Lagos to recruit young talents into their academy teams while playing the BFL league. Currently, we have started an U-7 to U-15 training sessions for younger kids in our community which is spearheaded by our street team coach, Mr. Raphael Adeniran, which we named the Banny Football Academy. Also, I would love to create a female league version because we have a lot of talented young female footballers in Surulere.

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