The Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development in Ondo State, Bamidele Ologunloluwa, says the state will organise a six-team competition to discover talents for Sunshine Stars football club.
He said this at the final of the 2023 edition of the Hon. Dele Ologunloluwa seven-aside Mock Nations Cup Tournament.
It was played at the Ondo State Sports Complex, Akure.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the seven participating teams bore the names of national teams of Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Egypt, Cape Verde, South Africa and Algeria.
The team bearing the name of the Senegalese national team, The Teranga Lions, eventually emerged as champions.
The competition had attracted current and former players of Nigeria’s Professional Football League.
Ologunloluwa said the proposed Super 6 competition would feature six indigenous teams from the state, from where talents would be selected for Sunshine Stars FC.
He said: “We want to have our own Super 6 competition in Ondo State.
“What we want to achieve is to discover more talents and to scout for them here because I am the commissioner for Youth and also Sports Development, which is very important.
“We shall look inward this coming season.
“Sunshine Stars and Sunshine Queens are ours.
“So we want more of home grown players.
“We will look for money to organise the competition.
“We will do it and it will be played at the stadium in the next two weeks.”
Ologunloluwa appreciated the organiser of the competition as well as Sunshine Stars Captain, Abe Sunday, for standing by the team through thick and thin over the years.
The Commissioner, while assuring of his continued support for the tournament, announced that it would henceforth be an annual event.
Also speaking at the event, Executive Committee Member, Nigeria Football Federation, Otunba Dele Ajayi, said sponsorship was the major problem of organising football tournaments in the state.
Ajayi, who was also the Chairman of Ondo State Football Association, commended the Commissioner for the idea of the local Super 6, saying: “It will engender football development.”
He described Ologunloluwa as the best Commissioner for Sports appointed so far in the state.
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