The annual thanksgiving champions league football competition that is powered by Irish Football Academy, Owerri has in the past two weeks ignited huge fun-fair in Ikenegbu, Owerri.
Aimed at encouraging and training the youths of the area, it also has the capacity of fishing out raw talents who may want to further their footballing careers.
Speaking to ‘Imo Trumpeta’, the Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, Mr Ekeke Chinonye (Irish) did reveal that this year’s objective is to assist victims and less fortunate youths to engage themselves in a skill developing and friendship related activity.
Irish who holds a coaching certificate from the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Lagos, but is currently the equipment manager of Heartland Football Club, Owerri said, “A lot of our youths fall victims of various circumstances and today many of them are languishing in police custody, prisons and Awaiting Trial Cells without hope or money to get their freedom”.
“The programme we are doing here is a conscious effort to assist such victims by creating awareness that they need fair hearing therefore giving them hope once more to become useful to the society,” he stated.
The competition which is patterned towards the Lucrative European champions league has teams playing with the names of big European teams as Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Ac Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan and As Roma with some notable Nigerian Premier League players also lacing their boots for some of the teams.
The teams are grouped into four with each group having 3 teams as one team qualifies for the semi-final from each group.
The semi-final games is slated to begin from December 5, while the final will take place on December 15 at the playing field of Girls Secondary School Ikenegbu amid fun-fair and fund raising for the victims in custody who are denied their rights.
