Kosofe and Mushin Local Governments put up a sublime display in the first two football matches of the SAMDA Nigeria U13 tournament at Opebi Primary School, Ikeja, Lagos, in the early hours of Monday.
The President of Lagos State School Sports, Bisi Joseph, took the kick-off as Mushin took on Kosofe girls in the opening match. The latter exhibited alluring skills from start to finish, steamrolling the former 3-0. Ashade Anuoluwapo opened the goals account inside the first ten minutes, while the enterprising and prodigiously talented Aliyu Rofiat weighed in with a brace in the second half as Ajose Idris’s team sealed a comfortable victory on the first day of the tournament.
It was the same one-way traffic in the boys’ category, as Kosofe took the youthful Badagry side to the cleaners, winning 3-1. Showstopper Waris Olarinde scored twice, putting his team 2-0 up after Aminu Yusuf had broken the deadlock inside the first twelve minutes and completed his brace in the second half, a rising shot that left the goalkeeper in a haze.
Badagry proved they were not in the game to be rolled over by reducing the tally late in the dying minutes of the encounter, with Abayomi Segun clinically converting from the spot after a Kosofe defender had handled the ball inside the box.
The matches were watched by a sizeable crowd, featuring several dignitaries and former Nigeria internationals, including the retired midfielder Waidi Akanni, who kicked off the second with words of encouragement to the players.
The football tournament comes on the heels of a successful press conference at the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board in Maryland on Wednesday as part of the programmes lined up to launch the non-profit organisation in Nigeria.
SAMDA currently operates in 26 countries across Africa and the Bahamas, namely Angola, Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Congo DRC, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, advancing education, leadership, and livelihoods from digital literacy and vocational training to sports and social cohesion, helping people thrive.
The organisation, headquartered in North Carolina, USA, champions transparency and partnership, working with elders, leaders, and global allies to convert vision into measurable impact.
