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A total of 32 youth football teams will compete in the 12th edition of the Obafemi and H.I.D. Awolowo Memorial Youth Football Tournament, which kicked off on Monday at the Lekki Playground, Lagos.
The annual competition, organised for children, features 16 teams each in the Under-10 boys’ and Under-17 girls’ categories, with teams drawn from across the South-West zone expected to battle for top honours.
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Supported by the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation and sponsored by Value Jet Airline, the tournament is organised to immortalise the late Obafemi Awolowo, the first Premier of the Western Region of Nigeria, and to commemorate his 117th posthumous birthday in the South-west.
The opening match in the boys’ category will see Young Boys Football Academy of Orile, Lagos, take on Otta Babes Football Academy from Sango Otta, Ogun State. In the girls’ category, United Queens FC of Ibadan will face Marry Queens FC of Lagos, both sides vying for progression in the competition.
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Speaking ahead of the kickoff, the match coordinator, Aliu Ganiu, said all necessary arrangements had been made to ensure a smooth and successful tournament. He urged participating teams to adhere strictly to the rules of the game throughout the competition.
Mr Ganiu also commended the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation for its sustained support of the tournament since its inception, assuring stakeholders that this year’s edition would be better organised and more competitive.
