The Nigeria School Sport Federation (NSSF) has commended the high standard of the inaugural First Bank/Samuel Okwaraji Foundation (SOF) National Secondary Schools Football Championship.
The federation, which is the technical partner for the competition, said the tournament has lived up to expectations with state representatives already confirmed across all Northern states and most Southern states.
NSSF Secretary General, Dr Oba Funsho Usman, said the transparent systems put in place had ensured the competition remained focused on discovering football talents in secondary schools while eliminating the use of ineligible players and mercenaries.
Usman said: “We know the things that mar brilliant grassroots initiatives of this nature and we have blocked all loopholes and dealt decisively with those negative practices this time around.”
He expressed satisfaction with the progress recorded in the competition, describing it as a platform designed to identify and showcase young football talents across the country.
He said: “The NSSF is thrilled with all that have been achieved in this First Bank/Samuel Okwaraji Foundation Competition.
“The main objective is to ensure that talents in secondary schools have a national platform to showcase themselves.”
Usman disclosed that representatives had emerged from all states in the North East, North West and North Central, as well as the South East and South South, while the South West would conclude its state finals this weekend.
He said: “The State representatives in all the Northern States (North East, North West and North Central) have emerged and the representatives in the South East and South South have also emerged while the South West will be concluding their finals this weekend.”
He explained that the state finals were staggered to ensure proper organisation and effective monitoring in line with the standards expected of a national competition.
“The State finals had to be staggered so that they can be properly organised and monitored. This is a national competition so there must be adherence to standards.
“This explains why as technical partners, we are happy with the high standards in place for this inaugural edition so that we can lay a solid foundation for future editions and most importantly provide the platform for the right participants with the right ages to be discovered,” Usman said.
The competition, also known as the Memoir Cup, is held in memory of former Nigeria international Samuel Okwaraji, who died on August 12, 1989, after collapsing while representing Nigeria during a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Angola in Lagos.