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Tag: Zenith Bank/Delta Principals’ Cup

  • New champs to emerge in Zenith Bank/Delta Principals’ Cup 

    New champs to emerge in Zenith Bank/Delta Principals’ Cup 

    There will be a new champion at this year’s edition of the Zenith Bank/Delta Principals’ Cup as two new finalists emerged on Wednesday after the two semi-final games played in Ogwashi-uku and Oleh.

    The competition which is in its 7th edition is being sponsored by Zenith Bank Plc in partnership with the Delta State Government.

    At the Jay Jay Okocha Stadium, Ogwashi-Uku, Umutu Secondary School Umutu, fought hard for their place in the final, securing a 1-0 win against Utagbe-gbe Government School, Kwale, leaving their opponent with only the third-place trophy to fight for.

    However, it was different story at Oleh Township Stadium, Oldham, with Ogbomro Grammar School, Ogbomro, Uvwie, whitewashing Okene m/s/s, Okuokoko, Okpe, 3-0 for a place in the final and a date against Umutu Secondary School.

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    It has been an intensive week since the start of the 2024 edition of the cup with the final taking place at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba on Thursday, November 7 starting with the third-place match at the same venue.

    According to the organisers, Hideaplus, the four teams expected to feature in the Third Place and Final games are arrive Asaba on Wednesday 6th November, 2024 in preparation for the matches.

    Tony Pemu, CEO Hideaplus said a total of 21 persons are expected from each of the schools.

    “We have written them and our preparations are in top gear for a quality final on November 7,” he said.  

  • Zenith Bank/ Delta Principals’ Cup enters semi-finals today

    Zenith Bank/ Delta Principals’ Cup enters semi-finals today

    The battle for the ultimate prize of this year’s Zenith Bank/ Delta Principals’ Cup continues today with four schools taking to the field in the semi-finals stage of the competition.

    The competition, in its 7th edition is a partnership between Zenith Bank Plc and the Delta State Government.

    At the Ogwashi-Uku Stadium, it will be a game between Utagba-Ogbe Grammar School, Kwale (Ndokwa West) and Umutu Mixed Secondary School, Umutu (Ukwuani LGA) while at the Kwale Stadium, it will be a fight between Okene Secondary School, Okuokoko (Okpe LGA) and Ogbromro Secondary School, Ogbromro (Uvwie LGA).

    In the quarterfinal games concluded on Monday Utagba-Ogbe Grammar School defeated Ugumbor-Otiku Secondary School, Agbor, 2-1 to set up a semifinal date with Umutu Mixed Secondary School, Umutu, who thrashed Zappa Basic Secondary School, Asaba, 5-1 in their own quarterfinal game.

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    It was a tight game at the Oleh Stadium between Okene Secondary School, Okuokoko and Okotie-Eboh Grammar School, Sapele, with Okene edging the game 1-0 and will be up against Ogbomro Secondary School, Ogbomro, Uvwie who beat Destiny Secondary School, Ughelli, 2-0.

    The two semifinals will take place on Wednesday with the third place and final coming up in November at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba.

  • Zenith Bank / Delta Principals’ Cup: Football teaches perseverance, says Delta Deputy Governor

    Zenith Bank / Delta Principals’ Cup: Football teaches perseverance, says Delta Deputy Governor

    The Acting Governor of Delta State, Sir Monday Onyeme,  said football is a game that teaches people how to persevere and face of challenges of life.

    Onyeme stated  as much at the kick-off of the 2024 edition of the Zenith Bank Delta Principals’ Cup at the St. Patrick’s College, Asaba.

    He said: “Football, as we all know, is more than just a game. It teaches us invaluable lessons of life on how to handle victory and defeat and to persevere in the face of challenges.

    “Students gain experiences on team work that facilitates achieving a common goal. These lessons will serve the students well in all areas of life. Players across the globe have become billionaires plying their trade across many countries. Let us use this competition to justify the saying of catch them young.”

    In her own submission, Dame Adaora Umeoji, the CEO of Zenith Bank, represented by the branch head, Asaba, Dr. Ifeanyi Attama, thanked the state government “for giving us the latitude to contribute to grassroots football talent discovery at both primary and secondary school levels simultaneously.”

    Tony Pemu, the Consultant to Zenith Bank and CEO of HideaPlus, said there is marked improvement in the organisation of the tournament  now in its  7th  edition, adding there  has been a concerted  efforts at eradicating  age cheats.

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    “ We may not be able to totally eradicate age cheats and the use of mercenaries but so far, we can pride ourselves to say we have reduced this to the very minimum,” he said. “As at today, we have introduced the use of NIN.

    “We’re working with NIN to ensure that every school is verified. We do our screening by use of NIN.”

    Beside that we have been able to partner a few international academies to ensure that some of the talent that we would discover would be able to migrate into some major leagues,” he added.

    In the official Kick-Off Match, Basic Secondary School defeated Mixed Secondary School both of Asaba, by a lone goal scored in the 13th minute of the encounter by Okwuchukwu Victor.

  • Zenith Bank/Delta Principals’ Cup begins  Oct. 7

    Zenith Bank/Delta Principals’ Cup begins  Oct. 7

    The annual Delta State Principals’ Cup football competition organized for all secondary schools in the state and sponsored by Zenith Bank Plc, has recorded huge rise in entries.

    The competition has witnessed remarkable surge of participating schools from 167 in the maiden edition to 615 schools in the current years.

    The competition starts at various preliminaries centers on Monday, October 7 with the official kick-off slated for Asaba on October 9.

    The Branch Head, Zenith Bank PLC, Asaba, Dr. Ifeanyi Attama, stated this in Asaba during press briefing for the commencement of the 2024 Zenith Bank/Delta Principals’ Cup Football Competition.

    He urged the State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to keep records of the outstanding players from the edition, stressing that hopefully, they would not only play in the national team but have opportunity to join prestigious clubs in Europe and other parts of the world.

    Dr. Attama said Zenith Bank was proud that talents were discovered in the previous editions,

    The State’s Commissioner for Secondary Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu, said that the competition was organized to foster the love of sports in youths and to also provide an avenue to discover young talents in the game.

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    Ezewu stated that there would be an improvement on the past editions as the bank and the Ministry had introduced the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) to check and avoid cheating in the competition

    The CEO of Hideaplus and consultant of the event, Mr. Tony Pemu, explained that the competition was open to students from JS1 to SS2 with the exception of the certificate class which is SS3.

    Pemu added that the winner of the competition would represent Delta State at the National Principals’ Cup Football tournament.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Augustine Oghoro, who appreciated Zenith Bank for their partnership and sustenance of the competition, urged the media for a better and wider coverage of the competition.

    The competition starts at various preliminaries centers on Monday October 7 with the official Kick-Off slated for Asaba on October 9.