Nigerian Football
MTN, NPFL and La Liga ignite Remo Stars Stadium with U-15 Youth Football League
The NPFL/La Liga U-15 Youth League Tournament has kicked off at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne Ogun State.
According to a press statement by MTN Nigeria, the tournament kicked off on Thursday and is featuring 16 teams.
It is expected to showcase football’s best and brightest young talents as it promises to be one of the most exciting sporting events of the year.
The winner is among the 16 youth football teams from across the country is expected to be crowned after the month-long competing.
From L-R: La Liga Ambassador for Nigeria, Mutiu Adepoju; Chairman, Ogun State Football Association, Alh. Ganiyu Majekodunmi; Brand, Digital, and Marketing Communications Lead, ValueJet, Aisha Adams; President, Remo Stars FC, Hon. Kunle Soname; Manager, Sponsorship & Promotion, MTN Nigeria, Njide Ken-Odogwu; and Head, Special Projects, Nigeria Professional Football League, at the press briefing of the 5th edition of the NPFL U-15 Youth League, supported by MTN, which held at Remo Stadium, Ikenne, Ogun State, on April 13, 2022.
According to Harry Iwuala, Head of Communications for the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL), the tournament provides an opportunity to further invest in and develop grassroots football in Nigeria.
“The philosophy behind this tournament is the same as the philosophy behind every global youth football development program: find tomorrow’s professionals today and hone their skills to become tomorrow’s professionals.
“We are excited to see how this tournament has grown over the years. We will continue to improve the tournament and be a true platform for developing football in Nigeria.”
Representing the Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, Adia Sowho, at the press briefing, Njide Ken-Odogwu, Manager, Sponsorship and Promotion, MTN Nigeria, spoke about MTN’s commitment to the development of grassroots football in Nigeria.
“MTN is committed to the growth of sports in Nigeria, with a particular focus on grassroots football.
“At MTN, we believe everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life, and we bring this to light by becoming an enabler of these young Nigerians’ dreams and aspirations.
“We are partnering with the NPFL and La-Liga for the U-15 Promise Youth League because we believe there are many undiscovered raw talents out there waiting to be discovered, and this is the right platform to help them reach their full potential.
“We remain committed to the development of football in Nigeria because we believe that this is Naija where football lives.”
The U-15 tournament ensures that Nigerian youth football receives ongoing local and international exposure, as well as capacity building for players and coaching talent, all of which contribute to the advancement of developmental football in the country.
Mutiu Adepoju, La Liga Global Ambassador for Nigeria, adds that the tournament is critical for identifying future football players in the country.
“Since 2016, La Liga has supported the development of football in Nigeria because we recognize how much talent exists in the country, and with more tournaments like this, we will be able to do more than we are currently doing.
“We will continue to offer support in ensuring that Nigerian football thrives.”
In addition to the competition on the field, the tournament will include a one-week coaching seminar where seasoned La Liga coaches will interact with their local counterparts on modern youth coaching techniques.
The seminar will benefit over sixty NPFL coaches, national team coaches, and other youth coaches from across the country.
The miserable run of Akwa United and Ikorodu City came to an end after six games in the Nigerian Premier League this season. Both teams were initially glued at the bottom of the league table.
They now got respite as Akwa United beat Kano Pillar by 2-0 while Ikorodu City even did what could be considered an upset, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0.
Remo Stars bounced back to the top of the log after a 3-0 defeat of Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars are yet to get their rhythm this season, playing a barren draw with Enyimba in Ibadan.
Kwara United who got their first full points of the season last week after a 1-0 defeat of Remo Stars could not consolidate as they were beaten 1-0 by Abia Warriors.
Heartland under Emmanuel Amuneke are gradually recovering as they got a valuable away draw against El-Kanemi Warriors.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It is 75 years since Nigeria’s national football team first played an international match. That was on 8 October 1949 when the first set of Nigeria’s assembly on their return voyage stopped over in Freetown and engaged Sierra Leone in an international football match. Nigeria won 2-0, setting a chain of positive results on 8 October.
The country never lost any competitive duel on that date. More significantly, the Super Eagles first qualified for the World Cup on an 8 October date.
That was in 1993 when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in the quest for USA ‘94 World Cup.
Nigeria became the first English-speaking African country to qualify for the World Cup. Another significance of the October 8 match at the July 5 Stadium, Algiers is that Nigeria were unbeaten for the first time by Algeria at home.
The only deviation from the 8 October Magic was in 2015 when Nigeria lost 2-0 to Congo in a friendly match.
Twenty-six years after Nigeria’s debut international match, one of Africa’s biggest football nations, Egypt fell to the October 8 magic, losing 4-0 to Nigeria in the last stage of the triangular World Cup qualifying series for Argentina ’78.
Up till October 15, 2013, when Ghana beat Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi, the October 8, 1977 duel with Nigeria remained Egypt’s biggest loss in a World Cup qualifying match.
Before the 1977 duel, Nigeria in 1963 played a friendly match with Liberia in Monrovia. The October 8 magic was active, even in an away match. Nigeria drew 2-2 in their very first encounter with Liberia. It was shortly after the team had, through a protest, upturned a victory by Guinea to pick Nigeria’s very first African Nations’ Cup ticket.
Little wonder then that when FIFA suspended Nigeria in 2010, the world governing body provisionally lifted the ban on October 8!
Nigeria on 8 October
- 1949 – Freetown (Friendly) Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria
- 1963 – Monrovia (Friendly) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
- 1977 – Lagos (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
- 1993 – Algiers (World Cup qualifier) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria… qualify for USA ‘94.
- 2005 – Abuja (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
- 2010 – FIFA, in apparent respect to the 8 October magic, provisionally lifted a ban imposed on Nigeria.
- 2011 – Abuja (African Nations Cup qualifier) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea. Although undefeated, Nigeria failed to make it to the 2012 African Nations Cup.
- 2015 – D.R. Congo beat Nigeria 2-0 in Visé, Belgium. The ‘October 8 Magic’ is finally broken.
Rivers United have launched themselves to the top of the log at the end of the match day 5 of the Nigeria Premier League. The Port Harcourt side beat Akwa United 2-1 to go afloat after initial leaders, Remo Stars crumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Kwara United in Ilorin on Sunday.
It was Remo Stars’ first defeat in the season. Rivers United are now with 13 points. Stephen Mayo put Rivers United ahead after 31 minutes. But it turned a temporary lead as Akwa United bounced back almost at the blast of the referee’s whistle for the second half.
Friday Apollos levelled up for Akwa United before Ndifreke Effiong Udo scored the winner in the 85th minute.
Sunday Results
- Kwara United 1-0 Remo Stars
- Rangers International 1-0 Abia Warriors
- Heartland FC 2-0 Niger Tornadoes
- Kano Pillars 2-0 Sunshine Stars
- Plateau United 1-0 Ikorodu City
- Rivers United 2-1 Akwa United
- Enyimba 3-0 Katsina United* Suspended
- Nasarawa 0-0 Bayelsa United
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