The founder and chairman of ‘Ottasolo All-Stars Empowerment Programme’, Gabriel Davies has said the motive behind his newly founded empowerment programme is to give ex-footballers fresh hope after active days as players.
While speaking with pressmen in his base in Lagos, the former Stationery Stores star man said”Football gives me joy and I am comfortable with it anywhere. I am a former player and when I look back at my fellow colleagues, I feel bad that many struggles to make ends meet.
I also passed through a tough road to get where I am now.“So what I do now is to empower some ex-players and also guide some current players to grow well in their career.
We have a meeting place around Command in Ipaja, where we meet Saturdays to play and socialize. Davies explained “Football as a sport has a bus stop and when a player gets to his bus stop, he has to look elsewhere.
*Ottasolo All Stars Empowerment Programme* is very strong and supportive to former players to give them fresh hope.”The chairman created an avenue via the programme whereby loans are granted to former players without collateral on a regular basis, while also providing mentorship talks to them.
“They sign documents to collect the loans and we advise them to use it wisely. Thus far we have had no issues and we are getting better as friends.”
Davies positedOn the fast rising Ottasolo FC that has just been registered as an amateur club in the Nigerian Nationwide League, the chairman said “We played in the Wike Football Tourney just late last year in Port Harcourt and it was a nice experience. We have seven of our players already in the Nigeria Professional Football League through the pre-season tourney while one is going abroad.“
The success story within a short time is a driving force for us to better in the football league and we also intend to take it as good business,” The Chairman concluded
