Fortune FC and Labro Girls are the champions of the 10th Taiwo Afolabi U-17 Football Tournament. They won their final matches at Onikan Stadium in Lagos on Sunday. Each team received N400,000 for their victories, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.
In the boys’ final, Fortune FC from Oshodi played strongly to beat FC Dynamos from Iwaya 2-0. The girls’ final was much tougher. Labro Girls from Ipaja went against Starlet Girls from Ididmu. After a 0-0 draw in regular time, Labro Girls won 5-4 on penalties. Both runners-up received N300,000.
Earlier, the third-place matches were played. Infinity FC beat Apex FC 3-2. In the girls’ bronze match, Fela Queen won against Puma Queen 1-0.
SIFAX Group sponsored the tournament, which had 56 clubs taking part, 32 male and 24 female. This makes it one of the biggest youth football competitions in Lagos State. Preliminary matches happened at Ojo Oniyun Sports Centre in Ebute Metta and Anthony Mini Stadium in Gbagada.
Dr Taiwo Afolabi, the chairman of SIFAX Group, said the tournament is held every year to celebrate his birthday. He also believes in the power of football to change lives.
"I decided to sponsor this tournament for the past 10 years because we use it to celebrate my birthday every year, but more importantly, we need to motivate and encourage these players because they are our future," Afolabi said.
"What unites the world is football. There is no doubt about that. People like the legends (Daniel) Amokachi, (Austin) Kanu, they travelled out of this country and made us proud. I am doing this to support and complement what the federal government is doing."
Afolabi expressed happiness about the competition's growth. He mentioned plans to include more participants and attract more sponsors in future tournaments. He also had a message for the Nigeria Football Federation. He wants them to match the transparency the tournament has had for ten years.
"They must support our youth. They must begin to do the right thing and not play politics with football. We have been transparent for 10 years and declared winners without any tricks. They must learn from that," he said.
The tournament has a good record of producing players who have played for Nigeria and signed contracts abroad. Notable players include Super Eagles midfielder Samson Tijani, who was discovered in the 2019 edition and now plays for Dukla Prague in the Czech Republic. Others are Soliu Afolabi of Slovan Liberec, Chijioke Light, who has played for Nigeria at the WAFU Championship and the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, and Ebenezer Ojo, found in 2022 and now playing in the Norwegian league.
Drop your comment
No comments yet — be the first to drop the gist 👇