Team Nigeria emerged champions of the maiden Game On Africa Tournament (GOAT) after defeating Team Ghana 4–2 on penalties on Saturday. The tightly contested encounter ended 1–1 in regulation time before Nigeria held their nerve in the shootout.
Team Nigeria was assembled from standout performers at the Nigeria GOAT Tournament, won earlier by Enugu GOAT, while Team Ghana was selected through a similar process to represent the West African rivals in the international showcase.
Speaking after the final, the visionary behind the GOAT project, Prince Emeka Nwankwo, shared the inspiration, challenges, and long-term ambition behind the tournament aimed at discovering Africa’s next global football superstar.
Nwankwo, who hails from Imo State and resides in England, said his lifelong passion for football and his desire to give back to the continent were the driving forces behind the initiative.
“I’ve played football extensively in the UK at amateur and semi-professional levels. I always wanted to play professionally, but age wasn’t on my side. My passion came from my father, who supported me from childhood. Football is in my DNA,” he said.
According to him, the Game On Africa Tournament — cleverly abbreviated as GOAT — was created with the mission of producing the next Greatest of All Time from Africa.
“In football, everyone knows what GOAT means — Greatest of All Time. We coined ours as the Game On Africa Tournament. The idea is to create a platform that will one day produce the next GOAT in world football.”
However, Nwankwo revealed that the journey to launching the competition was far from easy.
“I had no funding when the idea started. My first daughter, whose mother is Ghanaian, encouraged me to begin small—just a proof of concept—and grow from there. I must appreciate my family for their support.”
He also expressed gratitude to the project manager, coordinators, volunteers, and partner institutions who helped bring the maiden edition to life.
“It is not easy to organize anything in Africa. The project manager did a tremendous job bringing some of the best hands together. And the institutions supporting youth empowerment on the continent contributed immensely. We wouldn’t be here without them.”
Nwankwo praised the fans for their enthusiasm and promised that the next edition would be bigger and more refined.
“This is just the first edition. By next year, we hope to deliver a more sophisticated tournament. The dream is to keep improving until we produce football’s next greatest.”
The GOAT Tournament aims to become a premier talent-discovery platform across Africa, bridging grassroots potential with global opportunities.
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