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The coach of the Kwara U-17 female football side, Samuel Abegide has vowed to retain the Airtel Rising Stars zonal title won by his team last year in Ibadan when his wards square up against Ekiti in the female final match of the on-going Ilorin zonal championship of the Airtel Rising Star U-17 Tournament.
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.
“This is not the first time we will be playing in the finals of the competition. In 2012, we got to the semis and in 2013, we won the championship. We are not afraid to meet any team,” he said.
Corroborating her coach’s position, the assistant captain of the side, Ajayi Victoria said they are in high spirit for the encounter, adding that retaining the trophy is their top most priority.
Though she admits that the level of opposition is stiffer this year, Ajayi however expressed confidence that no level of challenge can break her team as the players know what is at stake and are ready to challenge for the title.
The team will battle Ekiti State in the finals to be played Saturday at the Kwara Football Academy Playing Ground, Ilorin venue of the on-going zonal championship. They had seen off Ondo State with a 2-1 victory in the first semi-final match played Thursday. The winner of the match will represent the zone in the female category at the National Championship slated for Lagos later in July. Ex-Nigerian International, Mutiu Adepoju is serving as the Technical Adviser to the Ilorin zonal team.
Meanwhile, Ekiti defeated Osun 5-4 via penalties after the match ended scoreless in the other semi-final match in the female category. Osun will take on Ondo also on Saturday in the third place match. Over 50 teams from Kwara, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun State have been participating in the week-long event.
The zonal championships is a significant stage in the ARS circle as it offers equal opportunities to all registered participants to showcase their skills under the watchful eyes of tournament’s technical advisers, leading grassroots coaches, YSFON officials and media partners.
About a thousand teams comprising 16,000 players are expected to feature in this year’s edition of the ARS. Not less than 50,000 active participants have been recorded in the last three seasons of the tournament.
The ARS U-17 tournament, a pan-African initiative of Airtel Africa, is designed to provide support for the development of football talents across Nigeria. It aims at discovering talented male and female students of secondary school age and providing them with platform to gain football skills and develop into professional footballers.
The tournament enjoys the support of football bodies such as Lagos State Football Association (LSFA), Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON), Arsenal Football Club and Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF).
