Twelve Schools Reach Finals of First Bank/Sam Okwaraji Cup

Twelve schools have booked their spots in the national finals of the first Sam Okwaraji Championship, sponsored by FirstBank Plc. This comes after the zonal qualifiers wrapped up in Nigeria's six geopolitical zones.

The qualifiers allowed young talents to show off their skills. The schools involved put on great performances at their various centres.

In Lagos, four states competed, with Ondo and Ogun moving on after strong showings against hosts Lagos and Oyo. Ondo topped the zone with seven points from three matches and were the only unbeaten team.

Ogun also secured a ticket despite a strong fight for the top spot. They beat Lagos and Oyo and looked to have a perfect record until they faced a strong Ondo team in their last game.

The boys from Ondo played hard and won 2-0, finishing first and pushing Ogun to second place. Lagos came in third with four points from one win, one draw, and one loss. Oyo ended last without any points.

At the South-East centre in Owerri, Imo and Abia grabbed the two available tickets. Ezeachi Secondary School, Orlu, Imo State, had a perfect run, winning 1-0 against Ebonyi State’s Estington Academy International School at the Dan Anyiam Stadium. They had already beaten Enugu and Abia states, finishing with nine points.

Community Secondary School, Aba, took Abia’s ticket with a 2-1 win against Enugu’s Saint Theresa College, Nsukka, in a crucial final match. This win marked a comeback for Abia, who had lost 1-0 to the eventual winners, Imo, in their second game. They started their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Estington Academy International School.

At the Calabar centre for the South-South qualifiers, Delta State came out on top with 10 points, while Rivers State finished second with seven points, earning the two available tickets.

Earlier, six schools had already qualified for the national finals from the Northern zones.