Organisers of the 1XBET Community Grassroots Football Tournament in Lagos have pledged a bigger and better event next year following a successful first edition that saw Bariga FC lifting the golden trophy after a 2-0 win over Odion Ighalo .
The Initiator of the competition, Waidi Akanni, said he was already looking ahead towards a bigger edition next year .
In his post-mortem of the maiden edition of the grassroots football tournament that involved all parts of Lagos State, stressed that the 2024 tournament will be bigger and expand to other parts of the South West region.
“Next year’s final may not be in Lagos because we are getting more states from the South West to participate,” enthused the Match International Limited CEO. “We are starting gradually to expand it to the South West and very soon, we will cover the entire country in the near future.”
He added :“I must admit that the inaugural edition was a huge success. It went far beyond our imagination in terms of success recorded in planning and execution. My appreciation goes to all the participating clubs, members of the organising committee, stakeholders and the media, in particular, for putting up such a wonderful show.
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Akanni said the high level of enthusiasm demonstrated by the clubs has forced the organisers and sponsors 1XBET to expand the scope of the competition. “From the next edition, teams will be involved in playoffs before they can qualify to take part in the conferences. We wanted just 40 clubs but after the press conference, there was a deluge of entries. As a matter of fact, some of the late entries complained to our sponsors that we eliminated them unjustly, which was not true,” he revealed.
The month-long tournament kicked off on October with the final played at the magnificent pitch of the Mobolaji Johnson Arena at Onikan Waterfront on Lagos Island. As Bariga FC boys shocked favourites Odion Ighalo FC to the maiden trophy.
In the third place match, Young Strikers from Lagos Island back by their fans that took over all the stands, overcame De Elite FC from the Epe Conference to win the bronze.
One good news that will gladden the hearts of teams that will participate in the 2024 edition is the increase in the prize money for the winners.
“Our sponsors, 1XBET have agreed to increase the prize money for next year. Without letting out the cat from the bag, I can tell you that it will be almost three times more than what we paid out for this 2023 edition,” concluded Akanni.