From Abubakar Abdullahi, in Lafia
With just days to the kick-off of the second edition of the Nasarawa State U-13 Male Football Tournament, organizers of the competition revealed that the tournament will surpass the previous edition in many ramifications, as they have put necessary modalities in place to stage a historic and excellent event this year.
Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Nasarawa State Director of Information, Danmusa Mohammed, disclosed this during a chat Journalists in Lafia.
According to him, “The competition is organized to identify hidden football talents in the age-grade cadre across the State and nurture them into global stars.
“Secondly, it is aimed at discovering players that would form part of the maiden U-15 Football Club the Nasarawa State Government intends to float.
“After the maiden edition of the U-13 tournament, the proponent, Hon(Dr.) Aliyu Bello, through his NGO, The Aliyu Bello Charity Foundation, deemed it necessary to host the second edition, and so far, we are about to kick-starting the second edition in earnest as preparations are already in top gear.”
He said “Governor Abdullahi Sule has given approval for this competition and to partner with some key Ministries and Agencies of the Government like the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development; Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development; Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Development; the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board; and the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Skills Acquisition Centre as well as the Nasarawa State Football Association.”
He noted that “based on the successes recorded in the first edition, some individuals and Organizations both within and outside Nigeria are making efforts to partner with us to see to the success of the competition.
“I spoke with a few individuals, including the head of a sports firm based in China who said he is interested in partnering with us and the State Government in some key areas to make the event a huge success.”
He explained that barring last minute rush, organizers have made provision for accommodation for all participating Local Government Areas’ teams, including providing jerseys for the players to be used during the competition.
Wamba Local Government Area defeated Kokona Local Government Area in the final of the first edition decided at the Sports Complex of Federal University of Lafia on May 27th, 2023, while Lafia beat Keffi to win the third-place play-off.
This edition will kickstart at the Lafia Township Stadium on 20th May and all the 13 local government areas of the state will participate in the competition.
