Abuja, Kwara shine as Etisalat U-15 tourney’s Ilorin play-off begins

The battle for supremacy at the ongoing season three of the Etisalat U-15 School Cup football competition has shifted to Ilorin, with Abuja and Kwara State dictate proceedings at the centre.

Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, FCT, Benue and Cross River states are battling for the two slots that would take the successful teams to the national finals billed for Lagos in November.

FOSLA Academy, Abuja and Socrates Secondary School, Kwara, proved a handful to their respective opponents in the matches decided inside the main bowl of the Ilorin Township Stadium.

FOSLA Academy beat Alhaji Azhan International College, Kogi, 3-1, while Kwara team got a 1-0 victory over Cross River, courtesy of Saheed Bakare’s 36th-minute goal.

The Abuja team continued their fine form with a 5-0 hammering of their counterparts from Nasarawa State, Mbagwa Commercial Secondary School, while Niger defeated Plateau 2-0.

The national champion of the 2016 edition will receive the Champions Trophy and a cash prize of N2 million educational award, while its players will go home with N50, 000 each. The second-placed team will go home with N1 million with the players pocketing extra N30, 000 each, while the third-place winner will have the sum of N750, 000 for its efforts with its players receiving N20, 000 each.