Government Army School, Elele are Rivers’ Copa Coca-Cola champions

Government Army Secondary School Elele has emerged champions of the Rivers State Copa Coca-Cola championship, a grassroots football tournament meant for secondary schools across the country.

With the win, the team, a debutant in the competition, qualifies for the next round of the regional tournament as Rivers State representative.

The grassroots stage of the COPA Coca-Cola tournament features schools in the federation, with 32 teams from the states qualifying for the regional stage of the competition.

Over 70 secondary schools in Rivers State participated in the state championship, where Government Army Secondary School defeated Okrika National Secondary School by a lone goal in a keenly competed final played at the football pitch of the State Secondary School, Amadi-Ama in Port Harcourt.

In the third place match, Enitonna High School, Borikiri, beat Western County High School, Ahoada by a lone goal.

In the final, Government Army Secondary School’s top striker, Clifford Maxwell, got the lone goal to crown his school the state champions.

Speaking after the final match, the Permanent Secretary, Universal Basic Education, Rivers State, Dame Josephine Chukwuigwe, expressed satisfaction with the level of the tournament as well as the passion displayed by the teams in Rivers State.

Chukwuigwe said, “with the high level of performance shown by all the participating teams, one might find it difficult to believe this is just the preliminaries stage.