WINNER EMERGES IN MAIDEN SANWO-OLU YOUTH SOCCER FIESTA

WINNER EMERGES IN MAIDEN SANWO-OLU YOUTH SOCCER FIESTA

•Surulere wins Gold, Cash Prize in BOS Cup

•Ifako Ijaiye-Ojokoro, Agege teams are runners-up

The frills and thrills of the maiden Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu (BOS) Youth Cup came to the pinnacle on Sunday, with the final round’s team jostled for the first prize – a gold cup.

Mobolaji Johnson Sports Arena in Onikan, formerly Onikan Stadium, came alive for the final match played between Surulere and Ifako Ijaiye-Ojokoro teams.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu personally declared the event open with a kick-off of the ball.

Ex-international goalkeeper of the national team, Dosu Joseph, Technical Director of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Austin Eguaveon, Coach of the National Under-17 team, Fatai Amoo, and members of the State Executive Council graced the final fixture.

Youths under the age of 21 across the State’s 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) took part in the soccer contest organised by the Governor’s Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) to complement youth development programmes of the Sanwo-Olu administration and curb restiveness.

The participants were brought together under the BOS Academy platform on which they were screened and certified to take part in the tournament. Each council was represented by a team.

The final round started after the third place fixture won by Agege team against Lagos Island East side.

About 30 minutes into the first half, Surulere team led by Yusuf Lukman, destabilised the opponent’s team with a goal.

At 77 minutes, the Ifako Ijaiye-Ojokoro team led by Marvelous Ajayi, however, came back with an equaliser.

The match ended in a tie, resulting to penalty shootout at the end of which Surulere team coasted to victory with 5-4

The winning team went home with a cash prize of N1.5 million and golden trophy. Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, presented the trophy on behalf of the Governor.

A member of the Ifako Ijaiye-Ojokoro team, Timilehin Lawal, got the prize for the Most Valuable Player (MVP), while Abdulazeez Agbaje of the Surulere team went home with the Highest Goal Scorer prize.

Also, Akpan Oyena of Agege team was rewarded with Best Goal Keeper of the tournament.

Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Sports, Mr. Anthony Adeboye, said the soccer fiesta achieved its intended objectives of leaving positive impacts on the youths, families and communities across the State,

He said: “In the last three week, we have seen our young people coming to the field to display great football skills and pour out energy that could have been diverted to vices. Having participated in all activities that culminated into the final round, I have no doubt that the objectives of the tournament have been realised, as we witnessed excitement on the faces of all participants.

“Inclusion is part of the ‘Greater Lagos’ agenda of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration and this football competition has further bridged the gap between the Government and the youth. We are highly elated that the maiden edition has been widely received by young people across the State. The subsequent edition promises to be bigger and more impactful.”

The first runner-up, Ifako Ijaiye-Ojokoro team, got N1 million cash prize and silver medals, while the second runner-up, Agege, got N750,000 cash prize and bronze medals.