Governor Ben Ayade U-15 Football Championships for secondary schools in Cross River will begin on Monday, 6 March, across all the 18 local government areas in the state.
At the time of this report, 254 secondary schools have registered to participate in the championships being organized by the Cross River State Sports Commission. Registration is open till Monday afternoon for more schools to register.
The Chairman of the state’s Sports Commission, Mr. Orok Duke who disclosed this while briefing the media about the championships at the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar on Friday, said the event will run concurrently in all the local government areas.
According to him, the preliminary stages of the championships will take place between Monday, 6 March and Thursday, 9 March, followed by the Senatorial stages between 21 and 27 March.
Duke said the final stage involving six qualifying schools from the local governments will take place at the U.J. Esuene Stadium between 28 and 31 March.
The opening match involving schools in Calabar Municipality will kick off at 4pm on Monday, 6 March at the U.J. Esuene Stadium, he said.
“The essence of sports is to engage the youths and engender peace in the state. We will allay the fears of parents about their kids taking part in sports,” Duke said.
He appealed to more schools to participate as, according to him, “we want to bring back the days of the Academicals.”
He said there will be prizes for the two finalists, while every participating school will be awarded certificate of participation.
According to a Commissioner in the Sports Commission, Ekanem Ekpeyong, there will be N10,000 prize for the Best Defender during the championships instituted on behalf of Christopher Edem, another N10,000 for the Best Mid-Fielder instituted on behalf of Okon Ene and N10,000 for the Highest Scorer instituted on behalf of the late Bassey Koma, who was a sports journalist.
Meanwhile, Duke said that after the football championships, a Basketball Tournament for primary and secondary schools in Calabar metropolis will be flagged off.
Already, 59 balls and 100 pairs of training shoes have been procured for the primary and secondary school boys and girls who were seen training at the U. J. Stadium basketball pitch on Friday.
Duke also promised to revive tournaments in honour of the late Orok Oyo Orok, Hogan Kid Bassey and other sports legends in Cross River.