Ex-Super Eagles player backs CitySports’ 1,000 boots project

Former Super Eagles midfielder Ogenyi Onazi has thrown his weight behind CitySports Foundation’s ambitious ‘1,000 Boots Project’, which distributed free football boots to 1,000 underserved children at the National Stadium, Surulere, on Tuesday.

The youth-empowerment initiative saw children aged 8–18 receive boots across different sizes, with Adidas donating 100 boots to complete the project.

Onazi praised the determination shown by the young football hopefuls who turned up early to benefit from the programme.

Onazi said, “The passion these kids showed by coming out so early in the morning tells you everything about their hunger to succeed,” the former Lazio star said at the event on Tuesday.

“This is exactly what Nigerian football needs at the grassroots level. When you see children willing to wake up at dawn just to get a pair of boots, you realise talent is not the problem — it’s access to basic equipment. I’m proud to support this initiative.”

The Chief Executive Officer of CitySports Africa, Shola Opaleye, expressed delight at the massive turnout and emphasised that the project was designed specifically for the children.

“Today was beautiful. Seeing thousands of children, parents, youth leaders, coaches, and volunteers here confirms what we already knew — the need is real and urgent,” Opaleye told PUNCH Online.

He also said, “This is for them. Every single child who got boots today, we’re telling them: ‘You matter. Your dreams matter. And we’re here to support you.’ You are giving them dignity, access, and the right to start dreaming. Because all the while, the dream has always been somewhere, but you can’t move to the next step because the tools are not available. And for those who didn’t get boots today, we are not done; there will be many more opportunities.”

Opaleye also revealed that the programme, which begins in Lagos, is designed for continental expansion.

The Director-General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Lekan Fatodu, who hosted Opaleye ahead of the event, commended the initiative as a bottom-up development framework for nurturing talent.

“Our governor has really invested in sports, and the results of his administration’s investment are yielding fruitful dividends,” Fatodu said, praising Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to sports development.

Representatives of sponsors TotalEnergies, Union Bank, Adidas, and Coollink High-Speed Internet were present at the event, which also included skill sessions, leadership engagements, and a community AFCON viewing experience.

CitySports Africa plans to scale the boot-distribution programme beyond Lagos starting in 2026, with steps already underway to make it a quarterly event beginning in 2027.