The regional championships of the fifth edition of the Airtel Rising Stars U-17 football tournament kicked off following the successful…
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Speaking shortly after he visited the competition venue, Okon stated that the future of female football development in Nigeria is bright with the calibre of players he saw at the competition and commended Airtel for assisting in unearthing future stars from the grassroots through the initiative
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
The dark-skinned coach, while expressing optimism in the ability of his players, said his team has become a force to reckon with since their first participation in the championship in 2012 where they made an appreciable impact in the championship
The registration for participation in the Season 4 of the tournament started on Wednesday and will run till June 27, 2014 across the country
The tournament is a grass-root football talent search programme aimed at identifying and nurturing budding soccer talent from the grassroots onto a national stage
They finally broke the deadlock in the 46th minute, with a superb finish from top striker, Rina Chipili
Also speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Zainab Maina, thanked the management of Airtel for designing the programme in such a way that talented girls are also offered equal opportunities to excel
As a key feature of the tournament, there will be a welcome dinner in honour of the participating teams and officials as well as draws for the match fixtures on September 15 while the tournament proper kicks off the following day with an opening ceremony
Enitan-Oshodi said: “The Airtel Rising Stars African Championship is an international event and we have committed to it
Enugu boys and girls recorded two goals apiece, while the representatives of the Federal Capital Territory trailed the rest with a single goal
They had taken the lead in the first half through Racheal Brown after a neat exchange of passes, but were soon back on level terms after Kafayat Shittu converted from the spot for the Ibadan girls
The teams qualified for the three-day championship after featuring in the zonal championship phase where they had to see off strong competition for the national finals tickets from other equally good teams in their zones
“Airtel has provided a forum for social interaction because I have been able to make new friends here through this programme
At the Lagos zonal championship, a total of 64 matches were played by 76 teams consisting of players from academies and secondary schools in Lagos and Ogun States
In a similar vein, Abuja male team has pipped their Nasarawa counterparts to the sole ticket to the National Championship after running away with a 1-0 victory in the final match of the Abuja Zonal Championship decided inside the Old Parade Ground, Area 10, Abuja, at the weekend
A solitary strike by Kaduna Team B was all that was needed to book a place in the National Championship in Lagos
“We have concluded preparations to ensure a hitch-free tournament that will be full of fun and excitement,” he said
According to Airtel’s Chief Operating Officer/Executive Director,
Deepak Srivastava, the registration exercise was hugely successful as
thousands of youth indicated interest in beginning their journey to
football stardom through the ARS tournament