.Honours individuals, institutions

By Jacob Ajom

The Foundation Cricket Club, (FCC) of Lagos was 40 last Saturday. To mark the anniversary, the club rolled out drums at the open fields of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, where a special canopy was erected for the occasion. It was a celebration of 40 years of impact, legacies, achievements, and the growth of cricket in Nigeria. It was a colourful event, marked with revelry. Indeed, it was a gathering of the very heart of Nigeria cricket.

The club used the opportunity to also honour some institutions and individuals who have acted as catalysts to the actualisation of its objectives, aspirations and, by extension, contributed to the growth and development of cricket in the country.

Founded in 1985, the Foundation Cricket Club is the brainchild of a group of four like minds. According to a founding member of the club, Mr Yinka Fisher, the beginning was a simple discussion on his breakfast table between Kwesi Sagoe, Late Ako Amadi, Late Moye Adenuga and himself. The discussion was based  on the need for a rebirth of cricket in Nigeria, a sport that had a robust past but was near extinction at the time. “We told ourselves the simple truth: Cricket was dying and needed urgent attention. We settled for the formation of a club that would spearhead the rebirth of cricket in Nigeria. That gave birth to what is known today as Foundation Cricket Club.” To their credit, Cricket has grown from a little-known pastime to the centre-stage of Nigerian sports.

Foundation Cricket Club have had an all-round impact on Nigeria, on and off the pitch. The FCC dominated national teams in the early years of its formation and provided guidance and leadership for Nigerian cricket The club has produced quite a number of Presidents of the Nigeria Cricket Federation and chairmen of the Lagos State Cricket Association. Another founding member of the club, Kwesi Sagoe was not only President of the NCF, he went ahead to become President of the African Cricket Association, the first Nigerian to be so elected.

Speaking at the event,  Chairman Emeritus, Olayinka Fisher said that though they have lost some members from when they celebrated 30 years anniversary, he was excited that a lot of progress had been made in the last 10 years. He enumerated some of the achievements the club have recorded.

His words “FCC midwifed the formation of Club Cricket Committee (CCC) in 1987, and since then the Committee has made considerable impacts in the game. Several of the FCC members have served in various administrative capacities within CCC and NCF. Furthermore, Mr Kome Agodo expressed happiness to be part of a club that several years ago provided the bulk of players for both the Nigerian National team and the West African Cricket Team, . The immediate past Chairman, Club Cricket Committee League, Akin Denton added that he was happy because he joined the club as a masters student of the University of Ibadan and today the club has produced some members who have served as former Chairmen of State Cricket Associations: George Wiltshire, Kofi Sagoe (Lagos), 

On his part, Kwesi Sagoe, a former Captain of Nigeria Cricket national team gave a detailed historical background of FCC and said the emergence of the club has donated facilities among secondary schools and tertiary institutions in Nigeria and encouraged playing tours of the clubs within and outside the country.

Club Coordinator of FCC Mr Kofi Sagoe, in his remarks, took time to appreciate every member of the executives and members of the club for their passion, dedication, sacrifices, and impact over the years. He further explained that some of the activities that made the celebration unique were the launch of an ‘’FCC Coffee Table Book’’ by Professor Adebola Kukoyi, Retired Professor of Romantic and Comparative Literature of UNILAG, and awards to deserving organizations and individuals who have distinguished themselves in Cricket.

The high point of the celebration was the award of plaques to the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Club Cricket Committee League, The Cricket Lab, Chief Simeon Oyewole Ogundipe (1st Secretary General of Ogun State Cricket Federation), Mr Jacob Ajom (Veteran Sports Journalist), and Coach Ewa Henshaw (Former Captain and Coach of Nigeria Cricket National Team).