On behalf of the government and people of Lagos State, I welcome the FIFA President, Mr. Gianni Infantino, and his FIFA Executive team to Lagos – the Centre of Excellence, home of talented sportsmen, not only in football but in every sport and Africa’s 5th largest economy.

We are delighted to receive the FIFA delegation in our State and to host this maiden Award Ceremony by our Nation’s Football Governing Body to reward excellence and inspire the major actors in the Nigerian Football space.

For us in Lagos State, partnering with the Nigerian Football Federation in hosting this Award Night gives us another opportunity to showcase our State as the emerging sports hub for Africa.

We are also proud to support the NFF in the hosting of this FIFA Executive Committee Summit in Lagos, just a few months to the 2018 FIFA World Cup coming up in Russia in June.

What we are saying to the world through these partnerships and our other sports programs like the Lagos City Marathon, International Table Tennis Federation Nigeria Open, the Lagos International Sports Classics in Squash Racquet, Badminton and Taekwondo is that Lagos is ready to host the world; and use sports as a tool to showcase our rich tourism, hospitality and entertainment culture.

We are confident that after this visit, the FIFA President and his team will consider Lagos favourably to host a FIFA competition.

Tonight, we will be celebrating our football stars, past and present. All the nominees for the various categories are winners and I congratulate each and everyone of you for your achievements and contributions to the game we all love, the game of football.

To all our distinguished guests present tonight, please enjoy the best that Lagos has on offer.
Thank you and God bless you all.

Akinwunmi Ambode
Governor of Lagos State,
Alausa