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By Sunday Ani
Nigeria and Africa’s leading mobile phone brand, TECNO, has continued to demonstrate that its long-standing commitment to football development, youth empowerment, and support for underserved communities is far more than a corporate slogan.
Through deliberate, sustained action, the brand is steadily positioning itself as a key driver of grassroots sports development across Nigeria and the African continent.
While the Sura Mini Stadium was delivered through a collaborative partnership between the Lagos State Government and TECNO, the newly unveiled football pitch at Ajasa Ikola, Command, tells a different but equally compelling story.
The Alade Complex is one rooted in perseverance, private initiative, and long-term community impact. The newly completed five-aside football pitch at Ajasa Ikola is situated within the Alade Sports Complex, a facility that has been owned, managed and sustained single-handedly by Prince Babatunde Alade for nearly 25 years.
For more than two decades, Prince Alade has operated the sports complex independently, driven solely by his passion for football, youth development and talent discovery at the grassroots level.
That long-held vision has now received a significant boost through TECNO’s intervention. By partnering with Prince Alade, TECNO has transformed the Alade Sports Complex with a standard astro-turf five-aside pitch, positioning it as a modern hub for football development within the Alimosho axis and beyond.l
Elder Ajayi also paid tribute to Prince Babatunde Alade, whom he described as a devoted sports enthusiast, grassroots coach and talent manager, whose impact has extended far beyond the immediate community. He recalled that two former Nigerian Golden Eaglets players, Basit Ojediran and Tijani Samson, who represented Nigeria at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil, were discovered and nurtured through the Alade Football Academy.
According to him, TECNO’s intervention not only validates Prince Alade’s decades of sacrifice but also ensures the sustainability of a football ecosystem that has consistently produced talent despite limited resources. He further commended TECNO for choosing to site a world-class facility in a community that is often overlooked, describing the project as a strong statement of inclusion and social responsibility.
The commissioning of the pitch also builds on an earlier milestone, when TECNO and Prince Alade formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) committing the brand to fully construct a standard astro-turf 5-aside football pitch at the Alade Sports Complex. The successful completion and handover of the facility now stands as evidence of TECNO’s follow-through on its CSR commitments.
The Alade Sports Complex project is the second in a series of football pitches scheduled for construction across Nigeria, following the Sura Mini Stadium project. Both facilities represent only the first phase of TECNO’s broader grassroots football development strategy in Lagos State and across Nigeria, with more communities set to benefit in the near future.
Beyond Lagos, these initiatives form part of a wider continental program tied to TECNO’s growing involvement in African football. TECNO is a headline sponsor of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), building on its sponsorship of the 2023 edition of the tournament. Through these partnerships and community-level interventions, TECNO aims to create pathways for young Africans to pursue their football dreams while bridging the gap between grassroots talent and the professional stars of today.
By investing in infrastructure that empowers communities, inspires young people, and promotes social cohesion, TECNO continues to reinforce its belief in football as a catalyst for opportunity, unity, and long-term development across Africa.
