In accordance with the vision of the maiden edition of Honourable Esosa Iyawe Football Tournament Hunt (HIFOT), FIFA licensed agent, Dr Drew Uyi, was in attendance at the final of the competiton, which held on December 9, 2023, at the University of Benin Sports Complex in Ugbowo, Benin City, Edo State.
The competition experienced unprecedented turn out of both football talents and spectators, as they had been yearning for such youth-oriented programmes in the constituency for many years. Top notch publicity by the planning committee headed by Owolo Innocent, had also ensured visibility, with an invitation to “The General public and all sport lovers in Edo” and constituents played key role in its resounding success.
Iyawe, a member representing Oredo Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, has among other youth empowerment initiatives, envisioned a yearly competiton, to create a veritable platform capable of serving as a bridge for talented young footballers, to reach their dreams of becoming future global superstars.
“Every year, I intend to empower the youth with this programme. We have lost a lot of talented footballers in Benin City and Oredo. Oredo has given birth to the likes of Victor Moses, Isaac Success, and a lot of footballers who are professionals and doing well,” the astute politician had said during the opening ceremony last month.
“So through this programme, we intend to build the talent of our youths. A lot of them play football and at the end of the day, because of age, nobody intends to harness that talent. But with this tournament, we intend to scout for good footballers, and by the grace of God, if we can get one footballer, sponsor one footballer to play internationally, I think it is a plus for Oredo.
“And he can send the name of Oredo to the world. Let us try and keep the fire burning, let us try and encourage sport as a tool to empower the youths. Not only giving them food to eat, we can still teach them how to fish. With this competition, you empower a youth, you have empowered a family, and when you empower a family, you empower a nation.
“Let us encourage ourselves, we know things are very difficult in the country now, but with prayer, helping each other and carrying each other along, we will definitely make Oredo a better place.”
The joker by Iyawe is the strategic partnership with United Kingdom-based Dr Uyi, who is also a renowned marketing, branding and public relations guru.
Though the UK citizen with antecedent from Edo was licensed by FIFA this year as a football agent, he had worked as an intermediary with FA license for several years, and through his UK Talent Hunt, many young football talents have been poached first-hand by international agents affiliated to top clubs in Europe.
Before the final of the competiton, Uyi and Iyawe had met in Abuja, to reinforce the essence of the competiton and drive its purpose; which is to leverage the advantage of the international figure, to provide a ladder to football talents in the constituency through the competiton, to the next phase they would never have been able to reach ordinarily in their aspirations.
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