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The organising committee of the Channels Kids Cup has confirmed its readiness for the first international edition of the grassroots football tournament.
This is the ninth edition of the competition, and the first in its international series after schools from Ghana and Benin Republic confirmed availability to compete with 14 schools chosen from the six geo-political zones of the country.
The competition is for pupils in primary school under the age of 13, and operates with a philosophy of zero tolerance to age cheats. The tournament has a strict screening policy and the process is repeated on match days to ensure schools comply with rules and regulations of the tournament.
According to the chairman of the Organizing committee, Steve Judo, this year’s edition has a major objective of promoting football at the grassroots.‘’It goes beyond playing football. We are teaching these kids the core values that will make them good sportsmen, and also making them understand the essence of combining education and sports from an early age.’’
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Some players from the competition are already having promising football careers. The most valuable player in 2013 edition, Million Koma, is now a player of Enugu Rangers and emerged the highest goalscorer at the recently concluded NPFL U-15 tournament.
Simon Akpomedaye also featured in the 2013 edition with the Ogedengbe Primary School from Delta. After the tournament, he has featured for the National U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets and currently plays for Warri Wolves. In 2015, St. Paul’s Anglican’s Afolabi Yusuf dazzled at the Lagos Preliminaries and was awarded scholarship to play football and further his education. The Channels Kids Cup is already a winning brand.
Schools started arriving in Lagos for Season Nine of the competition yesterday. The draw ceremony and unveiling of jerseys will be done today, while action commence tomorrow at the Teslim Balogun Stadium. The final game will be played on Children’s Day, May 27.
