Buoyed by the outstanding coordination of the tournament, the Chairman of Ekiti State Football Association, Mr. Bayo Olanlege celebrated Femi Popoola and members of the organizing committee of the MOB Ekiti Central Unity Cup which climaxed with a rapturous finale yesterday, Saturday 11th of February 2023.
The competition organized as part of the Ekiti FA grassroots development drive was sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele featured local teams from Efon, Ekiti West, Ijero, Irepodun/Ifelodun, and Ado Local Government Areas making up the Ekiti Central Senatorial District.
Olanlege commended the coordination of matches from the preliminaries at the LGAs to the inter-local council contests, noting that “The organizers played by the rule of association football and embodied initiatives that promote the development of youths in the bloc through the football fiesta. I am truly proud of the work they have done,” he submitted.
The top three teams in the tournament, in the Male and Female categories, smiled home with fat checks of one million naira for each winner, 1st runners-up received – #750,000 each while the 3rd placed teams received #500,000 each.
The Ekiti FA boss lavished praises on Senator Bamidele, popularly known as MOB, for setting a new precedent for sponsorship of a football competition in the state, positing that it is a testament that the lawmaker understands and values the far-reaching benefits of investing in the youth using football, while also promoting gender equality.
“It is important to mention that not in the history of Ekiti State as winners of a football competition received such an amount of money, it’s a new standard in the land,” Olanlege added.
He enjoined other politicians in Ekiti to emulate Senator Bamidele and toe this commendable path of community development.