Keke Senior High School, Ijaiye Estate in Lagos made history on Saturday, as it became the first school to win the maiden edition of the Etisalat FCB Under-17 School Cup.
The school beat Anthony Village Senior High School by 4 goals to nil to cart home the trophy after a thrilling final game played at the Campos Mini-Stadium, Lagos Island.
For its feat, the school also took home the star prize, a N1 million educational award, a smartphone for each of the heroic players, as well as an all expense paid trip to the United Arab Emirates, where they are scheduled to play a friendly match with the football team of a local school.
First runner-up, Anthony Village Senior High School went home with N750,000 and mobile phones for each of the players. The second runner-up, Akande Dahunsi Senior Memorial High School, who beat Magbo Alade Senior Grammar School, Ibeju Lekki by 3 goals to 1 on penalties after a goalless draw also received the sum of N500,000 and other Etisalat-branded items.
Speaking at the occasion, Director, Retail Sales, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Charles Ogunwuyi expressed satisfaction with the level of the competition as well as the passion displayed by the teams. “Sixteen secondary schools began with us at the Preliminaries on August 1, while eight teams were eliminated at the quarter-finals stage. All the schools were selected by the Lagos State Ministry of Education and the Lagos State Football Association. The Etisalat FCB U-17 School Cup is our own way of providing another opportunity for young football lovers to express their passion for the game and be rewarded for it, just as we are doing with the ongoing FC Barcelona Promo,” he said.
Ogunwuyi explained that the U-17 Competition was an innovative platform created especially for young people who are fans of FC Barcelona and the game of football generally. “Etisalat has been the official telecommunications partner for FC Barcelona since 2009. We hope these young players will keep their passion for the game and remember these experiences. We believe in rewarding hard work and having fun at it,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, Chairman of the Lagos State Football Association, Seyi Akinwumi commended Etisalat Nigeria for creating such a platform for secondary students in the state to express their passion for football. “We have nothing but pride in being part of this Etisalat initiative. The idea is to fuse football with education and so, Lagos State has a synergy with what the telecommunications company is doing for the young ones. We are proud that the children in this first tournament and others to come, will have the memories for the rest of their lives, or may even become players of FC Barcelona someday or other big clubs,” he said.
The mini stadium was packed full as the finals were spiced with entertainment and novelty matches to the delight of all in attendance. As a prelude to the finals, the fans of FC Barcelona squared up against the Etisalat Nigeria team in a novelty match to herald the beginning of the 2013/2014 Spanish La Liga season. The performances were by some of Nigeria’s most talented singers including May D, Olamide, Sean Tizzle and Dammy Krane. There were also choreographed dancing competition, and a ball juggling competition, with winners going home with fantastic prizes.
