Larry FC and Unification FC each won N1m on Saturday after taking first place in the men’s and women’s categories of the first Lagos Mini Football League, Sunday PUNCH reports.
Larry FC narrowly defeated G-Innovation 2-1 in a close men’s final. Unification FC beat Dream Stars 5-3 in an exciting women’s final.
G-Innovation received N500,000 as runners-up, while Mande FC got N250,000 for third place. In the women’s category, Dream Stars earned N500,000 for coming second, and Ghetto Tigers took home N250,000 for finishing third.
The league featured 30 clubs: 20 in the men’s category and 10 in the women’s, played in a six-a-side format.
Abdul-Ganiyu Vinod Obasa, the league chairman, said the competition exceeded expectations for its first edition.
“It is our first time hosting and we are really excited for the quality of football we were able to see. The fitness levels, the skill, the technique from the players, the organisation as well. I have to commend all of the organising committee for the wonderful job they have done, week in, week out. They have been able to pull all of this together and attract a lot of the community, spectators across Lagos State, across Nigeria as a whole,” Obasa said.
He explained that mini football has special rules, including scoring in a specific area and restrictions on certain tackles. His goal was to make the small-sided game more popular at the grassroots level.
“If you can play mini football, even when you play on larger pitches, your technique is better, you are fitter, you can shoot better. Overall, you think it will improve our players technique wise,” he stated.
Obasa mentioned that the competition has helped raise Nigerian mini football from lower levels to the top seven in Africa.
“This competition has taken Nigerian mini football from probably 30-something to about seventh in Africa, because we now have an organised league. Going into this international competition, we will have a well-organised, well-coached team, picked naturally from this competition. I think that will take us a level further in the mini football ranking across Africa and across Nigeria as well,” he said.
The women’s national team is set to compete in an international tournament in Cameroon this month. The league also served as a scouting ground for the men’s and women’s national teams.
Obasa also pointed out that the league has positively influenced the community by giving young people a place to gather and keeping them away from bad habits.
“All of the young people around the community have a place to come and watch football. Instead of getting involved in vices, they have time to come and spend here. I have to talk about the commerce that is happening here as well. People buying, people selling, getting all of the young people together. For us, sport is a tool, it is a serious business. It is something we should create more platforms for, for many young people to take the opportunity,” he said.
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