Benue boys, Plateau girls emerge in U-17 Airtel Rising Stars

ITRealms:

The season five of the Under-17 Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) football tournament at the weekend saw the male team from Benue State and female counterpart from Plateau State emerging winners of the Abuja Regional Championship, reports ITRealms.

This means that both teams which emerged at the Old Parade Ground in Abuja, ITRealms reports would now represent the North Region at the national finals holding in Lagos.

The Abuja tournament which kicked off on Thursday 30^th of July came to a successful conclusion on Saturday 1^st August at the Old Parade Ground, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

In the final matches of both male and female categories, the Benue boys defeated their Nasarawa counterparts by 3 goals to nil, while the Plateau State girls beat their Kaduna counterparts 7 – 6 through penalties after a gruelling encounter that ended goalless.

In the third place matches, the boys from Kaduna defeated team FCT by 2 goals to 1, whilst the Abuja girls clinched the third place medals at a match that was also decided by penalties where they beat the girls from Kano by 4 goals to 1.  

A huge crowd of soccer loving youths defied the early morning showers to be at the venue to watch the final matches. The highly elated winners celebrated joyously as the trophies were presented to them by Airtel’s Regional Operations Director, North, Wole Abu who was in company of the Zonal Business Manager, North Central, Lynda Umeh; Regional Trade Marketing Manager, North, Nasihu Abdulmajid and ex-Super Eagles International and technical adviser in the ARS 5, Garba Lawal.

Speaking shortly after presenting the medals and trophies to the teams, Mr. Abu noted that the Telco remains committed to its laudable contribution towards the development of youths and sport in Nigeria and has been consistent in supporting football talents to achieve their potentials.

“From Season 1 to the current Season 5, we have seen improvement in terms of organisation and officiating. Airtel Nigeria is convinced that this platform will continue to discover and produce football talents that will move on to professional football as we have seen from the testimonies of those that have been discovered. Airtel is interested in the success of youths in Nigeria,” he noted.  

Coach of the Benue State Team, Ernest Patrick, was full of delight at the victory of his team and expressed readiness to represent the North in the National Finals. “We feel proud and excited to have seen the result of our efforts. We worked hard but we will also work on our lapses. We played a good game and the other teams played well too. By God’s grace we will lift the trophy in Lagos. More is expected of us as we move to the National finals. We hope to make impact and win the competition.”

Salisu Nakande, Coach of the Plateau girls, who was a member of the Golden Eaglets squad to China ’85, said the victory at the regional championship is not new to him, but the task is for the team to lift the trophy at the national finals in Lagos.

“I am used to the terrain and I am not new to the National Finals. In the Airtel Rising Star Season 4, my boys made it to the finals but we lost to Kwara State. This time around, I foresee a very strong final and we will work hard to put in our best so we can win the National Finals in Lagos,” he said.

Meanwhile, four outstanding players were identified and honoured during the Abuja Regional Finals.

Rita Sunday, who plays for Plateau, won the Female Highest Goals Scorer award with a total of 6 goals, while Stephen Friday of Team Abuja won the Male Highest Goals Scorer award with total of 3 goals. The female Most Valuable Player award went to the skilful 15 year old Chinwe Akabike of Kaduna girls, while the male Most Valuable Player award went to Sanusi Usman,16, who plays for Benue State.

The next leg of the Regional Championship will be played in Port Harcourt at Liberation Stadium, PH between the 6^th and 8^th August. Thereafter, Lagos will host the last leg of regional championship at Legacy Pitch, National Stadium, Surulere, starting from 14^th to 16^th of August 2015. 

+ITRealms DSA +Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +Airtel Nigeria +Airtel Uganda +airtel India 

 

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!
Pix: L-R, Airtel’s Regional Operations Director, North, Wole Abu; Benue State Team Captain, Sunday Ugor; Zonal Business Manager, North Central, Lynda Umeh with ex-Super Eagles International and Technical Adviser in the ARS Season 5, Garba Lawal during the presentation of trophy to Benue State male team after emerging winner in the Abuja Regional Championship on Saturday.

Airtel kick-off Rising Stars Season 4

ITRealms:

Airtel Nigeria, Wednesday in Lagos kicked off the 4th edition of Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) U-17 male and female tournament, a grass-root football talent search programme aimed at identifying and nurturing budding soccer talent from the grassroots onto a national stage, reports ITRealms.

This, ITRealms gathered is coming 10 months after a successful hosting of the 3rd edition of the ARS, an Africa-wide grassroots tournament that underscores the company’s avowed commitment to creating excitement for sports lovers as well as providing empowerment opportunities for Nigerian youth.

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, noted that the soccer initiative is the company’s contribution to sports development and youth empowerment in Nigeria.

Ogunsanya who was accompanied by ex Super Eagles and Falcons Stars including Peter Rufai, Ann Chiejine, Chioma Ajunwa, Garba Lawal and Mutiu Adepoju said football in Nigeria elicits passion, creates fun and engenders unity.

“Airtel wants to be an integral part of local communities and our association with football has strong elements of creating positive change and engagement. ARS is our contribution to building and sustaining a rich pool of football talents for the Super Eagles and Falcons,” he said.

While highlighting the success of the Airtel Rising Starts intervention, the Airtel CEO also noted that the initiative has provided strong platforms for empowering exceptionally talented Nigerians.

"It is on record that the Airtel Rising Stars Football programme has produced exceptional talents some of whom are: Musa Mohammed Shehu- Captain Golden Eaglets U17- (ARS 2011); Zahradden Bello- U17- ARS (2012); AL Hassan Ibrahim Abdullahi- U17- ARS (2011); Muri Lawal- Sunshine Stars FC Akure- ARS (2011) and Josephine Mathias- Falconets, Pelican Stars FC Calabar- ARS (2011),” he said.

According to Ogunsanya, the fourth edition of the Airtel Rising Stars programme will be played in different regions across the country, culminating in the National Finals, a three-day soccer fiesta. Thereafter, the successful male and female teams will travel to Gabon to compete for continental glory in Africa’s biggest youth football tournament with participation from 17 countries.

With over 50,000 active participants over the last 3 seasons, ARS enjoys the endorsement and 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). This year, Airtel is partnering ex super eagles and falcons stars to offer technical support and advisory services to the youngsters.

Beginning with Open Screening Camps in five locations, where the participants will be screened for age compliance and given the opportunity to showcase their talents, the selected male and female teams in each camp will proceed to Lagos to challenge for honors at the National Finals.

The Airtel Rising Stars U-17 Tourney, a unique pan African initiative of Airtel Africa, is designed to provide support for the development of football talents across Nigeria. It aims at discovering talented students (male and female) of secondary school age and providing them the opportunity to gain football skills and develop into renowned stars.

The Airtel Rising Stars registration will kick-off from today, June 4th, 2014 to Friday, June 27th, 2014 and is expected to draw thousands of participants across the country. The registration forms will be available at Airtel Express shops nationwide.

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D