Kwara beats Ekiti to win ARS Ilorin zonal championship trophies

Kwara State has emerged zonal the champions for the Ilorin Centre in the male and female categories of the just concluded ARS Ilorin Zonal Championship of the Airtel Rising Stars U-17 Tournament.
The Kwara State teams also clinched the zonal tickets to the National Finals in both categories after defeating their Ekiti State counterparts in separate explosive encounters decided at the practicing pitch of the Kwara Football Academy, Ilorin. 
In the first final match of the day, the state’s female team whitewashed their opponent from Ekiti State 4-0.
They scored two goals in each half of the encounter to retain the trophy it won last year in Ibadan, Oyo State.
A brace from the boots of darting striker, Eto Deuty, and one goal each from last year’s most valuable player in the national championship, Shittu Kafayat and Hassan Sulia, were all the team needed to emerge champions of the South West zone.
To get to the finals, the Kwara State male team had defeated Ondo State 5-2 and Oyo State 3-2, while Ekiti State went past Osun State 1-0 to qualify for the finals.
In the final match of the male teams, it was Kwara State again that ran away victorious with a 2-0 win over Ekiti State with goals coming off the boots of Akeem Salami and Taye Ayinde in the first half.
The four teams displayed good football artistry but the Kwara State teams proved superior with good finishing skills that earned them the desired victories.
In the female category, Kwara State defeated Ondo State 2-1, while Ekiti State went past Osun State 5-4 on penalties after playing out a goalless draw during regulation time.
They had defeated Oyo State 1-0 in an elimination match earlier played. 
Meanwhile, Ondo State has won the third place match with a 2-0 defeat of Osun State in a keenly contested encounter in the female category while Oyo State won the male category.
A total of 18 players have been shortlisted for the National Championship in Lagos slated for late July.
Only 16 players, however, will make the final cut in a list expected to be released within the week.
Ex-Nigerian International, Mutiu Adepoju is serving as the Technical Adviser to the Ilorin zonal team.
Over 50 teams from Kwara, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun States participated in the week-long event.
The zonal championship is a significant stage in the ARS circle as it offers equal opportunities to all registered participants to showcase their skills under the watchful eyes of the tournament’s technical advisers, leading grassroots coaches, YSFON officials and media partners.
About 1,000 teams comprising 16,000 players are expected to feature in this year’s edition of the ARS.
Not less than 50,000 active participants have been recorded in the last three seasons of the tournament.
The ARS U-17 tournament, a pan-African initiative of Airtel Africa, is designed to provide support for the development of football talents across Nigeria.
It aims at discovering talented male and female students of secondary school age and providing them with platform to gain football skills and develop into professional footballers.
The tournament enjoys the support of football bodies such as the Lagos State Football Association, the Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria, Arsenal Football Club and the Nigeria School Sports Federation.