A former commissioner for justice and ex-attorney-general of Lagos State, Moyosore Onigbanjo has showered encomiums on organisers of the annual JOF U-13 Cup for contributing to the discovery of new football talents with the competition.
Sports247 reports that Onigbanjo also eulogised the competition’s continued huge impact on youth football in Lagos State as well as its sustained relevance for seven years running, which he reckoned is a symbol for other similar ventures to emulate.
While disclosing that he had followed the competition since its inaugural edition, Onigbanjo described it as a veritable platform for catching hidden talents at an early age and asserted that he has always been awed seeing it grow with every single edition.
He also showered accolades on the competing teams, as Fortune Football Academy of Oshodi were crowned this year’s champions after defeating FC VI-Foot Football Academy 3-1 on penalties during the final that was played at the sports centre inside University of Lagos.
The winners went home with ₦750,000, while VI-Foot received ₦500,000 and the third placed team, Soccer City Football Academy got ₦350,000 for their 1-0 victory over Ultimate Football Academy, who were given ₦250,000 for finishing fourth.
VI-Foot striker, Okoroma Destiny finished as highest goals scorer, while Fortune FA’s Odesola Odunayo was named the most valuable player and his team’s net minder, Alabi Faruk, their hero in the penalty shootout, emerged as the best goalkeeper.
Onigbanjo, who noted that the competition helps budding players compete in an organised setting, added: “It’s great to catch talent when they’re young. It’s also good to encourage these young lads at under-13 level to showcase their skills.
“From the first edition at Campus Square to this seventh edition at UNILAG, you can see a lot of improvements. You can see better organisation. You can even see more determination and more skills from all the teams. It’s commendable.”
