The maiden edition of the Egbedore Unity Cup kicked off on Saturday at the King’s and Queen’s Football Playing Ground, bringing together twenty football clubs from across Egbedore Local Government Area of Osun State.
The opening match, featured Okesapo Football Club and Amorite Football Club, with Okesapo FC defeating Amorite FC 2:1 to gain three points and top the Group A table.
Okesapo FC took the lead with their first goal in the first half, while the second came after a penaltykick. Amorite FC only goal of the match also came after a penaltykick.
According to the organizers, the competition features 20 teams, divided into four groups, and a total of 48 matches to be played throughout the tournament. Other participating teams include Dada Estate FC, Vino FC, among others.
Speaking with our correspondent, the facilitator of the tournament, Oladele Bamiji, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Deputy Spokesperson to the Governor, stated the initiative aims to harness youth potential and foster unity at the grassroots level.
“The idea behind this is to galvanize the youthful strength and talent of our young people at the grassroots. An idle hand is the devil’s workshop. This is what they love to do, and if the youths are not involved, it feels like we have not done anything for them.
“That’s why I supported the idea when it was brought to me. We want our young people to come together, exchange love, ideas, and pleasantries, and foster unity among themselves. It shouldn’t be all about drugs and fights,” he added.
He also noted that the competition will run for one month.
Also speaking at the event, Olamide Tiamiyu, Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, commended the organizers and players for promoting peace and talent development through sports.
“Football is the only thing that unites everyone together. When it comes to football, we are always united. If we can discover talents here and give them our support, some of them will go on to represent us at the national level,” he said.
Tiamiyu, however, pledged to support the tournament by promising to donate 30 medals to the players.
The second match of the Day 1 of the competition was between Vino FC and Soccer Talent FC in the Group B Table which ended 5-2 in favour of Vico FC.
