With the qualification of
the Kaduna teams in the Airtel Rising Stars national championship, the zonal
qualification has moved to the coal city, Enugu and garden city in Port
Harcourt.
For the host Kaduna as its male and
female teams picked the sole zonal tickets in both categories for the on-going
Airtel Rising Stars U-17 Tournament.
DigitalSENSE Business News/Sports
gathered that both teams fought off fierce competition from six other states to
book their places after a series of matches played at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium,
Kaduna.
Also in the male final match decided
last Friday, Kaduna made their numerical advantage count with both finalists
coming from the state to make it an all Kaduna affair.
“They had produced three teams in the
male category and two in the female category from the knockout stage,” official
revealed.
Grouped as teams Kaduna C and P, the
two finalists played out a barren draw during regulation time, and consequently
had to settle for a penalty shoot out which eventually ended 9-7 in favour of team
Kaduna C.
The picture was not completely
different in the female category where Kaduna once again produced the
finalists. A solitary strike by Kaduna team B was all that was needed to book a
place in the National Championship in Lagos.
The Kaduna zonal championship was not
a good outing for defending national champion, team Jos, as they lost the
opportunity to play at the National Championship next month after failing to
replicate the form that saw them lift the coveted trophy in Lagos last year.
In the third place match decided in
the male category, Katsina defeated team Kaduna K 2 - 0 with both goals coming
off the boots of Aliyu Isa who also took home the Championship highest goal
scorer award with five goals. The girls from Kano scored twice to beat team
Kaduna D 2-1 in the female category.
Individual awards went to Augustina
Boniface and Watashira Titus, both of whom emerged Championship Best Goal
Keeper in the Male and Female categories respectively. Linda Ayo won the Most
Valuable Player Award in the female category while Chidera Ejueke was adjudged
the Most Valuable Player in the male category.
A total of 736 players representing 20
teams from the 1523 registered number participated in the Kaduna Zonal Championship
which produced 58 goals in all from 32 matches.
Notable sports
personalities at the Zonal Championship include Dr. Shehu Adamu, Board member,
Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Kaduna Zone, Elisha Kachung - Deputy Director, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Kaduna and Dr.
Ademola Are – North West Zonal Coordinator, Zone 1, National Sports Commission
(NSC).
The zonal championship play-offs
continue in Enugu and Port Harcourt between July 31 and August 2.
Enugu zonal matches will be decided
at the University Stadium, UNEC, Enugu, just as the Training Pitch of the
Liberation Stadium will serve as the venue for the Port Harcourt zonal
championship
Tournament partners, Youth Sports
Federation of Nigeria (YSFON) and the Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF)
are to lead an independent team of seasoned sports personalities including
grassroots coaches to conduct the screening exercises that will begin from 10
am to 5 pm on designated days across the centres.
The Airtel Rising Stars U-17 Tourney, in its
third year running, is a pan African initiative of Airtel Africa, designed to
provide support for the development of football talents across African markets.
It is aimed at discovering talented students
(male and female) of secondary school age and providing them the opportunity to
polish their football skills and develop into renowned stars.
As part of the tournament, top teams
from 17 African countries will compete against each other for the title of
Airtel Rising Stars African Champion, scheduled for Nigeria in September.
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