EKITI-BORN UK-BASED KEHINDE FAGBUARO LAUNCHES MOOR SPORTZ TO PROMOTE AFRICAN STARS GLOBALLY

Read Time:4 Minute, 7 Second

EKITI-BORN UK-BASED KEHINDE FAGBUARO LAUNCHES MOOR SPORTZ TO PROMOTE AFRICAN STARS GLOBALLY

It was cream de la cream night gathering of sports journalists, veterans and administrators at the prestigious Sportshaq at Adamu Orisa Crescent, Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria as a UK based sports Production and Communication Company Moor Sportz brought home ‘Project African Stars’ – to showcase and celebrate African sports legends and heroes both at home and in the Diaspora.

Speaking at the unveiling of the concept, the Chief Executive Officer of Moor Sportz, Kehinde Fagbuaro stated that over the years, the stories of African sports men and women who had made tremendous impact globally had been told from the perspectives of Europeans and outsiders, a development he said was not in depth enough to capture their real essence.

Fielding questions as to what inspired the concept of showcasing the African sports legends from the African perspective, Mr Fagbuaro said, “We saw the gap in the sports industry especially in Africa. Most of our stories, the story of the athletes, the icons and legends of African heritage both in Africa and in the Diaspora are being told by the Europeans and outsiders for us and the gap is always there and there’s not enough in-depth research about these stories.

Chief Executive Officer of Moor Sportz, Kehinde Fagbuaro explaining a point.

“So we want to come in because I personally live in the United kingdom but I was born here. So I can stand as a bridge because I live between here and in the Diaspora. I know the content of what is happening in Africa. I know the content of what is happening in Europe, so I can be a bridge to bring a proper perspective to the stories of the African heritage.

“We are very specific, Athletes of African heritage both at home and in the Diaspora, we want to promote them. So, by the launch today, we have exposed the intent, it will cover all sports. We have mentioned some of the athletes we want to cover, Athletes like Tobi Amusan, Segun Odegbami, things that people do not know about them which we want people to know.

“For instance, I did a documentary about the first African to win a gold medal in the Olympics. Abebe Bikila ran barefooted in the Olympics and won the first gold medal at the Olympics for Africa. People want to know why Bikila ran barefooted. Was he just a jungle man who could not wear his fine shoes? People want to know. We researched and found out that he actually had a pair of shoe that was hurting his legs and he tried to train with it but discovered that he could not maximize it and the time was too short to get the proper shoes for the contest, he had to run barefooted.

“When I wrote that story, it started attracting a lot of attention. So, there are a lot of things that are behind the scene that are not common in daily journals, in day to day news that we go behind the scene to research. So, that is the essence of what we are doing, celebrate the African essence both at home and in the Diaspora.”

On his part, a renowned sports administrator, Dr Mumuni Alao commended Moor Sportz for the initiative and expressed excitement.

Veteran journalist Mumuni Alao speaking at the occasion with another veteran Administrator Godwin Dudu Orumen at the background.

“I’m excited about the originality of the concept, the idea. I like the creativity and as far as telling the African story is concern, we have not even scratched the surface. So there’s a very big nitch in that area which I’m very excited about and I’m happy that it is not just a Nigerian project, it’s an African project which means there’s a lot of potential content.

“I’m excited about the prospect in terms of the kind of content that we will be receiving, that’s no one. Number two, because today’s world is more video-centric. When you talk about content now, I’m a specialist in writing,” he stated.

Also speaking, ex-international, Chief Segun Odegbami commended Moor Sportz for the initiative and promised to support whenever called upon.

His words, “Well, I’m excited about the prospects; I have seen glimpses of the future of what this organization wants to do and I believe that if it is done the way they said it will be done, then, we are in for some true entertainment in football.

“Beyond the entertainment, there’s also the documentation, the historical perspective and when you combine history with entertainment, it’s a winner! So, I just want to use this opportunity to congratulate More Sports and to wish them the very best of luck. As much as we possibly can, we shall render our support.”