Chrisland eyes Lagos sports academy for young athletes

Chrisland Schools has revealed plans to establish a Lagos Sports Academy aimed at identifying, training and developing young athletes to represent Lagos State in national and international competitions.

Executive Director of Schools, Sports and Broader Curriculum, Eric Van Der Merwe, in an interview with Sportxvibe.com.ng revealed the initiative and highlighted the school’s growing investment in the structured development of grassroots sports.

According to Van Der Merwe, Nigeria has abundant sporting talent but lacks the structures necessary to develop athletes from a young age.

“There is a lot of talent in Lagos, but there is no support or structure,” he said, noting that many of Nigeria’s elite footballers and athletes only achieved their potential after moving abroad.

Since taking over three years ago, Van Der Merwe said Chrisland has transformed its sports program by creating competitive soccer teams at the U-12, U-14, U-15, U-16 and U-17 levels, while strengthening athletics, basketball, volleyball and swimming at its 16 schools.

He added that the structured approach has enabled several students to obtain sports scholarships and compete in international tournaments, proving that sports can thrive alongside academic excellence.

The proposed Lagos Sports Academy, he explained, would bring together prominent student-athletes from schools across the state every weekend to train with former and current international athletes.

“Our dream is to have Lagos school teams that can represent the state and Nigeria internationally,” Van Der Merwe said.

He revealed that talks are ongoing with the Lagos State Government and emphasized that government support would be crucial to make the project a reality.

He added that Chrisland has offered sports scholarships to 10 talented public school students and has provided access to its sports facilities to schools across Lagos.

“But we are expanding. It all starts small and, unfortunately, you need money for these kinds of things,” he said.

Van Der Merwe believes that expanding partnerships between private schools, government and communities will unlock Nigeria’s immense sporting potential and produce the next generation of elite athletes.