Date: 2016-10-25

It has been sweet memories for the state school teams representing the Federal Capital Territory and Kwara State at the Ilorin Centre of the ongoing season three of the Etisalat U-15 School Cup football competition after they both posted sterling performances in their opening games to brighten their chances of picking the two tickets to the National Finals in Lagos.

The teams – FOSLA Academy, FCT; and Socrates Secondary School, Ilorin – proved a handful to their respective opponents in the matches decided inside the main bowl of the Ilorin Township Stadium.

In the first group match, Kwara State was 3-1 better than the boys from Alhaji Azhan International College, which is representing Kogi State in the competition. In the second match against Cross River State, the Kwara State team continued their fine display and was rewarded with a lone goal victory after Saheed Bakare scored in the 36th minute.

The Federal Capital Territory school team at the competition, FOSLA Academy, was ruthless with a 5-0 hammering of their counterparts from Nassarawa State, Mbagwa Commercial Secondary School.

It was not a one-sided affair as the scoreline may suggest, but the FCT boys played a more disciplined, focused, coordinated, cohesive, technical and free-flowing football than their opponents whom struggled to step up to the occasion. Chidera Posper Ojukwu, an indigene of Imo State, was the destroyer-in-chief after scoring four goals and providing an assist for the fifth goal scored by Kumater The centre forward, donning jersey number 11, was a menacing presence to the backline of the Nassarawa boys who could not curtail his link-up play, intelligent runs and mesmerizing dribbles to which the crowd inside the stadium appreciated with recurrent rounds of applause.

The second match against Niger who had defeated Plateau State two goals to nothing in its opening match had raised so much expectations.

Again, it was the young Okukwu who masterminded the fall of their opponents after scoring a brace in the 26th and 70th minutes of play to increase his Tournament tally to six.

Emmanuel Yakubu added the third in the 75th minute. The scoreline would have been wider, but for the heroic saves of goalkeeper Mohammadu Mohammed for the Niger State boys.

The participating States include Kwara, Kogi, Nassarawa, Niger, Plateau, FCT, Benue and Cross River States.

Two of these teams with maximum points will qualify for the Lagos National Finals billed to hold in November. The national champion of the 2016 edition will receive the Champions Trophy and a cash prize of N2 million educational award, while its players will go home with N50,000 each.

The second-placed team will go home with N1 million, with the players pocketing extra N30,000 each, while the third-place winner will have the sum of N750,000.00 for its efforts, with its players receiving N20,000.00 each.