Piston Divine Royals FC wins Bishop Mike Okonkwo Championship 

Piston Divine Royals Football Club at the weekend defeated Dominion Hotspur 2-1 the 16th Bishop Mike Okonkwo Football Championship held at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.

The grassroots football championship also featured an eight-team female category this year.

Young Talent 99 Queens won the new category by beating Victory Queens 4-3 through a penalty shoot out. The regular time had ended 1-1.

Winners of the competition in the male and female categories were decorated with medals, trophies and cash prizes.

Speaking at the end of the competition, presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Bishop Mike Okonkwo called for Nigerian football to be restructured to put it at par with top football playing nations.

He also advised states’ football associations to organise grassroots development programmes to aid the growth of the sector.

64 clubs featured in the championship, which kicked off on May 5 at the National Stadium, Lagos.

Chairman of the local organising committee, Malachy Ndubuzor revealed that some of the players discovered from the competition would form the bulk of the squad for TREM Football Academy.