Okoroma United of Okoroma from Nembe Local Government Area and debutants, Active Ladies of Agudama have emerged the men and women’s champions of the Bayelsa Governor’s Football Tournament, tagged the Prosperity Cup.
Okoroma United pipped hard-fighting Akinima/Biogbo 1-0 to earn the side a historic win. Erasmus Noble on 18 minutes gave the Nembe side the deserved victory in an encounter decided at the Samson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa.
Active Ladies in the women’s category beat defending champions, Afini Ladies of Amarata by a lone goal, courtesy of Ughwumioma Charity’s 32nd minute strike to ensure that they go home with the trophy and prize money.
Champions, Okoroma United received ₦30 million for their effort, second placed Akinima/Biogbo went home with ₦10 million, Mountain of the Lord Deliverance Ministry, MLDM FC who finished third got ₦5 million, while fourth placed Krosaders FC smiled home with the sum of ₦2 million.
Women’s champions, Active Ladies were rewarded with the sum of ₦10 million for their effort, second position received ₦5 million, third placed team got ₦2 million, while the fourth placed got ₦1 million, along with other consolation prizes.
Para-Soccer champions, Shadrack Sports Academy got ₦1.5 million for their triumph, with the total prize money amounting to ₦80 million.
The final also witnessed an historic signing of the memorandum of understanding for the setting up of the FC Barcelona-affiliated Bayelsa Starlets Academy.
Declaring the tournament closed, an elated Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, said he was pleased with the continuous growth of the tournament, maintaining that his administration has used the Prosperity Cup to empower the youths of the state.
The governor, who described sports as a global event, remarked that the competition was one of the programmes he inherited from his predecessor and invested hugely in it to empower the youths, pointing out that beyond politics, football has become a means of livelihood.
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He acknowledged that the introduction of the women’s category improved the quality of football in the competition, stressing that the continuous increase in the number of clubs participating in the showpiece reflects the growth of the tournament.
The governor noted that he wants to see the government disengaging completely from football and indeed all sports, pointing out that the essence why only football could thrive in the country was because of the private sector involvement.
While commending the organizers of the tournament for the smooth organization of the competition, the governor asserted that he was elated with the increase in sponsors yearly in the competition and that he hoped to see the tournament standing independently without government involvement.
