TO commemorate the 20th coronation anniversary of His Royal Majesty, Oba Michael Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, CFR, Okukenu IV, the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, the Royalty Club of Egbaland (RCE) is organising a South West Junior Tournament in his honour.

According to the President of RCE and Accountant General of Ogun State, Lion Tunde Aregbesola, the tournament is organised for the Under 16 and 19 categories holding at the RCE Squash Complex, Ake Palace and Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Squash Complex, Abeokuta. The finals of the two-day tourney, which began on Friday, November 21, will hold at RCE Squash Complex on November 22 from 9am to 7pm.

Aregbesola stated that Oba Gbadebo, being an ardent squash racket player, is interested in youth development and this informed RCE’s decision to organise the tournament to mark this milestone event.

“Oba Gbadebo has so much interest in squash and he encourages the young ones to play the game, that is why RCE is giving the young ones a chance to excel in it,” he said.

He further disclosed that the tournament is organised by RCE in conjunction with Chief Tokunbo Omisore, the founder of Ajisewa Egba Foundation.

Aregbesola recalled that RCE, formerly known as Ake Royalty Boys, was established 18 years ago, to foster social, economic, cultural and sporting development in Nigeria and promote squash in Egbaland, in tandem with the interest of Oba Gbadebo.

The maiden edition of the competition, held to commemorate Oba Gbadebo’s 10th coronation anniversary, had 40 young players drawn from Lagos, Ogun and Kwara states.

Since its establishment, the association has given a lot of promotion to squash in the country. It regularly organises Ake Palace Squash Clinic for the youths, and it would be recalled that it launched the Youth Squash Academy, in conjunction with Ogun State Squash Association and the Nigerian Squash Federation at OOPL Squash Complex, Abeokuta, to mark Oba Gbadebo’s 75th birthday in 2018.