Lagos Athletes Compete for N14m in Obasa Games

Young athletes from all over Lagos will go head-to-head for a N14m prize when the fourth edition of the Obasa Games kicks off on November 7.

Football leads the prize money with N6m, which is double the N3m that last year's winners got. Table tennis and boxing will each get N2m, while chess, scrabble, Ayo Olopon, and athletics will receive N1m each.

Dr Moshood Ajibola, the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, shared these details during a media briefing at the Agege Local Government Secretariat on Tuesday.

He explained that the goal is to find more up-and-coming sports talents in the state.

For the second time, the Games will include all 57 Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas in Lagos. Athletes from both private and public schools will register through the Lagos State Ministry of Education's district structure.

"The football event will feature 62 Under-18 teams from the 57 LGAs and LCDAs. The first phase is a knockout stage, and the second phase will have 32 teams in the group stage," Ajibola stated.

The other six sports will start on November 7, while football will begin on November 16 and take a break while the other events are ongoing. The district eliminations will wrap up on November 24, and the finals for those six sports are set for December 2. The Games will conclude on December 5.

Kings Sports International is organizing the event to honor the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa. The theme for this year is "One Lagos, Many Talents, One Brighter Future."

Last year, Future Stars Football Academy won the football title, defeating Goal Getters 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the final held at Anwar-Islam Model College, Oniwaya, Agege.

That edition was the first to include teams from all over Lagos, and 54 athletes won medals in the other six sports.