Citysports Africa set for maiden Easter Cup tournament

Global Sports giants, CitySports Africa, who are the pioneers of the CitySports League, have said all is set for the maiden Easter Cup slated for April 18 to 19 this year

Speaking with journalists at the company’s head office in Lagos on Thursday, the Chief Executive Officer of CitySports Africa, Shola Opaleye, revealed that the two-day tournament will offer U-9, U-12 and U-15 players a platform to showcase their talents. A total of 48 teams will participate in the event.

The tournament format will see 16 teams in four groups in a round-robin phase, producing teams for the quarter finals, semifinals, and finals. Opaleye emphasised that no prize money will be given to the eventual winners; rather the first, second, and third will be given a trophy and medals. At the same time, all participating players will receive an ‘I am a CSL challenger’ trophy.

According to Opaleye, the goal of CitySports Africa and by extension CitySports League is to make the Easter Cup one of the biggest youth football tournaments in Africa, providing a platform for young talent to gain exposure and access global opportunities. They hope to expand the tournament and strengthen partnerships for an even greater impact.

”CitySports Africa is a sports development institution. We are into sports development right from grassroots to professional level, and our track record lays credence to the fact that we are a serious organisation. At CitySports Africa, we try to make sure that if we have a hundred children in our programme, we ensure that all of them have a good place to end up and not just one or five per cent.”

Speaking further, Opaleye said: “The only way we have done that is to create our leadership concept where every child is made to develop themselves through leadership, teaching and programmes. That is the way they can guarantee success in their careers. Part of our plans is to prepare the children medically well through a comprehensive assessment with our partners before going into competition of this magnitude.”