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‘Bishop Obiefuna tournament promotes youth evangelism through football’

By Osiberoha Osibe, Awka
13 August 2019   |   3:29 am
The just-concluded Bishop Albert Obiefuna Youth Football Tournament was sponsored to encourage youth evangelism and bringing the young ones back to God.

The just-concluded Bishop Albert Obiefuna Youth Football Tournament was sponsored to encourage youth evangelism and bringing the young ones back to God.

Speaking while presenting trophies to winners at the end of the tournament yesterday, the sponsor, who was the president of the Catholic Youth Organization of Nigeria (CYON) in 2002, Basil Aguigwo noted that youths had failed in evangelism and pursuit of godliness to the point that getting them back o God through sports has become necessary.

“I donated the trophy to encourage youth evangelism and bring the youths back to God because most youths have skidded off the apostolic Catholic faith.

“Most of them have embraced Pentecostalism in the urban areas, but when they return to the village, they return to Catholic faith to impress their Catholic parents that they are good Catholics while maintaining reception of Holy Communion and having dual choices in their faith.”

The former Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Anaocha Branch, Anambra State from 2016 to 2018 explained that the Bishop Obiefuna for male competition was an offshoot of 2014 Gladys Chidiebere Aguigwo competition in memory of his younger sister who died in2014.

He explained that the tournament was split to become both the Bishop Obiefuna tournament for the male members of CYON, while the Gladys Aguigwo Cup tournament, otherwise referred to as Mary League Games, was meant for the girls.In his remark, the Cathedral Administrator of the Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Awka, Monsignor Matthew Attansey expressed
happiness that the purpose of getting the youths to identify with sports as a means “to embrace evangelism and return to God has been achieved.”

Also speaking, Rev.Br. MacJulian Onyejegbu hailed Aguigwo  for encouraging youths to embrace God through sports, stressing that the competition made it possible for the youths to come together quite unlike some church events like night vigil, pray and fast sessions and crusades.

Rev. Br. Onyejegbu described Bishop Obiefunna as a disciplinarian, who encouraged youths, stressing that, “people valued him because of his devotion to God through the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

At the end of competition, Team Bishop Okafor won the men’s trophy by beating Team Bishop Okpalaeke 3-0. Four teams competed in the male category with Team Bishop Paulinus Ezeokafor beating Team Bishop Jonas Benson Okoye 1-0 to win the third position.

In the girls’ category, Team Bishop Jonas Benson Okoye defeated Team Bishop Okafor 2-0 to win the Mary League Games trophy donated in memory of the late Gladys Chidiebere Aguigwo.

Paul Nnebe of the Team Bishop Okafor was voted as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament in the male category, while Blessing Ezinne of the same Team Bishop Okafor carted away the Most Valuable Player Award in the girls’ category.

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