Weli Weli FC Emerge Champions Of Rural Is Cool Tournament
2 min read
_Win grand prize of N300,000
Weli Weli Football Club has emerged champions of the 2023 Rural is Cool tournament with a grand prize of 300,000 thousand naira with jerseys, among other prizes.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Weli Weli defeated Elite club of Ala 5-4 on penalties after the game ended a goalless in the entire 90 minutes of the encounter to emerge champions of the tournament.
At the grand finale held at the Ondo State Sports Complex, Akure, the facilitator and Executive Director of Durian (A Non-Governmental Organisation), Tony Joy, said the tournament was aimed at discovering talents at the grassroots for global recognition.
Joy said the idea is to focus on rural revitalization, give opportunities to rural communities, celebrate the beauty of communities and show to the world that rural has talents and that rural is cool.
“It is a blend of joy and pain, the joy of seeing people succeeding, the beauty of having giving people opportunity to showcase their talents but also the pain of the difficulty in seeing people have a career in sports and that is touching for me.
“It is a point for us as an organisation to try and do something to fight the injustice that exist in the system but in all, I’m very happy about the success of the program,”
Joy said her venture has engaged women in craft and agriculture to boost their God given talents and also add value to the immediate environment through initiatives rolled out by the organisation.
She said rural is cool tournament had impacted positively on the youths to harness their potentials in football at the grassroot level.
The Coach of Weli Weli football Club, Adebayo Olowolafe while reacting to his team’s victory, said the team worked hard to achieve success at the tournament.
“This is one of its kind. It’s an opportunity for the young players in the rural areas to just step up by dictating young talents.
“So with this, if we can see one or two people that can do this kind of initiative, it’s going to help the young talents.
In the female category of the tournament, Onimarg football club emerged champions with the cash prize of 150,000 naira with jerseys after defeating Talent Soccer Academy from Abuja.
Captain of Onimarg Academy, Gbemisola Mohammed,thanked the organisers of rural is cool tournament, for creating a platform for the youths to showcase their talents.
Other cash prizes were given to officials and players who distinguished themselves in the tournament and raffle draws for people to win different prizes.
Dignitaries present at the grand finale include the CEO, H&B Global Sports Institute Amb. Henry Abiodun, Chairperson Ondo State Football Coaches Association, Tayo Onilude, Chairman Akure South Football Council, Yomi Ogunlade and Chairman Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Segun Giwa.
