Ikoyi hosts SociaLiga Corporate League S3 hot fixtures

It was an atmosphere of fun and good football artistry as the 2024 edition of the SociaLiga Corporate League S3 took center stage at Herel's playground Ikoyi, Lagos. 

The SociaLiga Corporate League has continued to prove itself as one of Nigeria’s most competitive, exciting, and organized semi-professional football leagues. 

It now boasts of the fielding of Nigeria’s best talent pool in the corporate space and the backbone on which their careers are propelled to higher levels touted as future ballers. 

Watch NPFL Matches LIVE: https://www.africasport.net/livetv/nigeria
 

In an exclusive interview with Africa Sport Network (ASN), the competitors expressed great pleasure of competition and bonding in the corporate space. 

The coach for Payville FC, John Enejor, noted that the competition has been interesting for their club, as they have always come out tops in the league. 

“It’s been fun all the way and interesting. We’ve been coming tops in the league for the past two seasons.” 

Enejor also shared the challenges he and his club members have faced so far and how they have been able to surmount them.  

“The team is made up of workers. So, the major challenge is having people present on match days. They also have other things to do, and they have their lives to live. But we've been managing it over the years.  

“Basically, the club has been growing. The team has improved. There used to be a time when I had to play matches. That is no longer the case. We have very good players in the team that have joined, and the team is improving. So, we are going from strength to strength,” he said. 

Concerning the match, Enejor was all cheers, expressing his satisfaction with how well his team played.  

 
“We enjoyed the match, because our opponent, Ofada Boys FC, was formidable. Last season we lost to them towards the end of the season. But we won this time,” he said finally. 

 
Abbey Mortgage Bank coach, Felix Omodayo-Owotuga, shared the drive of his team to win the match and what they intend to improve on as a team, for subsequent matches. 

“We wanted to come into this game and win the game, which is the most important. And we won it 2-1. Even though we wanted to play, at least have a clean sheet, regardless. 

  
“But at least we were happy that we played a 2-1. We've noticed one or two things that we need to improve on. Of course, we'll go back. We will have trainings, and we'll improve on it, waiting for our next opponent.  

“We played against Unified Payments FC. A very good opponent, I must say. They tried to block so many of the tactics that we came onto the pitch with.  

 
“But, of course, we have the players that can easily adapt to the new changes or some of the things that we wanted. And we were able to bring in one or two players that were able to change the game. And, of course, we got 2-1. And that was very good for us,” Omodayo-Owotuga gladly stated. 

 
Omodayo-Owotuga also highlighted the importance of the SociaLiga to the corporate world. 

 
“To be honest, I think it's interesting. Aside from the fact that you get to meet other people from other areas, where you socialize, where you meet people. Of course, like you said, SociaLiga is a social league. 

  
“So, you get to socialize, you get to meet people. Aside from that, it's fun, you know? Having to do something outside of the normal work you do. And, you know, only to find out that even some of the players that you have are very good players. 

  
“You'll be shocked to know that some of the guys that you see in the office, that you do strategy together with, are actually good footballers. And when you see them playing, you're like, wow, this guy can play. If this guy had actually taken this football job, maybe he would be playing in England right now. 
 

“So, of course, it's interesting to do something outside of one’s regular work.” 

 
About how they are able to combine official duties with training for matches, Omodayo-Owotuga said they try to factor it into their schedule.  

 
“The first thing in football is passion. And football has a spirit of its own. And because it is passion, it is interesting. Regardless of how tight the schedule of the work is, we try to clear the time. 

“So, we've actually been coming to this place to train in the evening. We finish all our work and then we come here to train once a week. Maybe two hours a week. We do mostly Saturdays and Sundays,” he said.  

 
Cyril Pinero, coach of BetKing FC, had other highlights of the match to share.  

 
“The game was nice. I mean, I had some complaints here and there, but it's all good. We tried our best and we got three points. We won the game against Paga FC by three points. 

“I feel like the referee missed some calls during the game. They injured one of my players during the game, which I thought was the yellow card, but he said ‘no.’ So it got me a little bit hyper. But we're all fine now. I mean, we won,” he said. 

Pinero emphasized the fact that BetKing is a sports betting company and therefore supports sporting activities as much as possible.  

“My office tries to support staff with sports interests. We are a professional betting company, we try to get involved in sports as much as possible. So, we usually have trainings in an area where people come. We provide buses for staff to go back home. So, there's a little bit of balance for us,” Pinero noted. 

 
The match was not all glitz and glam, as some other clubs did not meet their expectations, but were willing to improve their teams for the coming matches.   

 
Opeyemi Oyinloye, Paga FC coach, recounted their experience during the game and what they hope to work on, as a team.  

“I think it was a great game. Both teams brought the energy. I think SociaLiga is really back. I like the display across both teams. I think it was a very competitive match.  

“We lost 3-2 to BetKing. Whenever you're on the losing side, you can see all the things that have gone wrong. 

  
“But to be very honest, I saw a lot of positives from the game, especially from our team players. I think we showed character, we showed resilience, coming back from 3-1 down to 3-2. We almost nipped it even before the end. But we have mapped it out to go and improve our game plan and come back stronger,” Oyinloye said. 

He added that Paga FC has been with SociaLiga from inception, and over the years, he has seen the league improve.  

 
“I think the competition itself has improved over the years. Especially the officiating and the match management. We have a new manager this year.  

 
“SociaLiga is gradually improving on the game. And it's a good avenue for all of us to engage socially and meet with each other. It brings all of us in the tech community together in competitions like this. So, I'll say thumbs up to them for putting this together. 

 
“For us, we are looking to reinforce our team over the coming months and hope that we do better,” Oyinloye added. 

In another exclusive chat, Olaniyan Caxton, the co-founder of SociaLiga, shared the story of the league and all they plan to achieve in the coming years, as well as their challenges so far. 

“We’ve been active for about 10 years now. It started primarily with the professional football league for men and ladies, prior to pivoting to corporate football, which is where we are, currently. 

 
“This is our 3rd season. We are a five-a-side league, and we have a couple of corporate brands working with us. The whole aim for us is to create a community where people can come and have, what we call ‘engaging football as a participant.’ 

“We want a place where your friends come and cheer you on, and network and relax after. So, most of our events do come with other social activities, so that it's not just about football. When you watch sports on TV in other countries, you see that there's an urge to go to the stadium, and we don't have that culture fully set up back here in Nigeria. 

 
“The idea for us was to welcome people that we know, that can always come out every day to watch their people play. You can connect to the players because they're your colleagues in the office, and stuff like that, and also hang out and have fun with them. So that's who we are, and what we do,” Caxton said. 

 
When asked about the schedule of SociaLiga matches, Caxton had this to say: 

 
“We try to avoid the rainy season. That's key for us. There are professional footballers who can play when it's raining, but we can’t do that. So, we try to target the dry season, which starts in November, and which will run till maybe March or April. 

“We play every two weeks. And we try to play in the evening time, from 3pm to 7pm. So that we don't play under the hot sun. So, it's more like when everybody is calm. 

  
“You can see the venue we’re using. There's a shower room, a swimming pool, and a lounge.  

“The idea is that you finish playing your match, you go shower, change into your casual clothes, and you come out for the after-party or the socials, as the case may be. That's how we operate. So, it's not just about football. It's more about an ecosystem,” he said. 

 
On the funding of the league, Caxton noted that the league is funded by the registration fees paid by the clubs.  

 
“All teams have a registration fee that they pay. And that, more or less, covers the organization of the competition, paying for the venues, paying for media coverage, paying for the referees, the match officials, the medics, and all that, really. 

“The aim is to make a profit at some point. We're not there yet. We don't have sponsors.  

 
“My idea is that if we bring these brands on board as partners, as teams, then it's easier to get money out of them for sponsorship. So, if they see value in paying to play, they can also see value in paying to sponsor. 

  
“Funding has been our biggest challenge. We spend a lot of our personal money trying to push sports. That's one of the biggest issues.  

 
“Another challenge we have faced so far is the issue of venue. We're doing five-a-side football now, but at some point, we used to do the 10-player, full-pitch kind of soccer, and finding the right venue that is good for football, but at the same time good for the fans to come and watch, is extremely difficult and expensive,” the co-founder pointed out. 

 
He added that the match officials are formally trained. 

 
“I have my own way of training them. There's nothing wrong with the state-owned referees, but to avoid some inconsistencies, I train my own referees.  

“My referees are independent. They go for their trainings. They even get their badges at some point. 

  
“The idea is that even if we're still going to bring back the state or the commission referees, they are going to be working with my own guys. It's going to be a system whereby we have control over the league,” he said. 

 
Wrapping up the interview, Caxton, who co-founded the SociaLiga with Ope Tokoya, noted that the vision of the league is to have several corporate brands playing in different parts of the country.  

“My vision for Social League is for me to retire and have somebody else take over. I've been at this for over 10 years.  

 
“The idea is to have at least 20 teams as corporate brands, doing this regionally, in different parts of the country, so that it's not just a Lagos-based thing.  

“We've tried that at some point. We've tried to go for Abuja and Port Harcourt, but if I don't feel comfortable that I can do both without any issues, then I would hold off. There's no rush.  

“I don't know if we'll go back to professional football. But for the corporate side, we feel we have a niche that we are currently dominating. It's something that can spread,” Caxton said.  

 
We eagerly look forward to more from the SociaLiga, and to seeing their vision of unifying corporate brands via football come to life.