Bet9ja League: Produce Future Players For Sunshine Stars, Ondo Deputy Gov charges organisers—Ondo State Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has urged the State Football Association to ensure that Bet9ja Ondo State Football League produce future champions and players for clubs, especially for Sunshine Stars.

The deputy governor said this at the official unveiling and launch of the football league on Sunday in Akure.

Ayedatiwa, who was represented by the General Manager, Ondo State Football Agency(ODSFA), Mr Akin Akinbobola, commended the state football association for re-awakening the state league which had been docile.

He noted that the league would encourage football activities across the 18 local government areas and identify talents for national and international engagements.

“This is laudable; this is the beginning of grassroots league. I commend the state FA for the noble and laudable initiative which would afford the talents abound in the state to showcase themselves.

“Competitions have been organised in the state before now, but I must say this Bet9ja competition is novel, well structured, I pray for the success of the Bet9ja competition.

“Our government will continue to support any initiative driven towards development of our youths at the grassroots,” he said.

Aiyedatiwa called on well to do individuals to invest more in the development of football in the state.

In his remarks, the Chairman, Ondo State Football Association, Otunba Dele Ajayi, said the state football league would provide a pool of talents for clubs in the state to tap from.

Ajayi, who noted that scouts would be brought for the competition, appreciated Bet9ja for coming to the aid of the association in terms of development of grassroots football.

“The committee needs your cooperation. We were voted in last year and all our programmes have been successful and I appreciate my board members for the support and cooperation,” he said.

The Chairman of the Committee, Bet9ja Ondo State Football League, Mr Yomi Seriki, said the committee had concluded a statewide tour to sensitise stakeholders about the league.

“Registration will be for a period of two weeks and we envisage nothing less than 80 football teams at the grassroots, across the state, to register for the inaugural league.

“After registration, the teams will be divided into groups and then the league will commence.

“At the end of the first stage, the winner and the runner up from each group will converge in Akure for the grand finale; it is from the engagement between the teams that the state champion will finally emerge.

“The league will be run and managed according to the statutes of FIFA through the Nigerian Football Federation and we have obligations to our title sponsors, Bet9ja, the foremost sports betting company in Nigeria, and we will fulfill all our commitments to them in words and in spirit,” he said.

The Chairman, Ondo State House of Assembly Committee on Youths and Sports Development, Olugbenga Omole assured the FA of budgetary allocation to fund the association for excellence

BREAKING: Moses Simon In As #Osimhen Snubbed For #CAF Awards 2022—The Genius Media Nigeria reports that Super Eagles midfielders, Moses Simon and Akinkunmi Amoo have been shortlisted in the nominees’ list for the Confederation of African Football Awards 2022.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released the first list of nominees for the CAF Awards 2022 which will be held on 21 July 2022 in Rabat, Morocco with Africa Cup of Nations winner Sadio Mane, and former Liverpool teammate, Mohammed Salah making the nominees’ list.

Simon, who plies his trade in France with FC Nantes, was the only Nigerian player nominated in the Player of The Year (Men) category.

The Jos-born speedster was pivotal to Nantes 2021/22 season, where they finished ninth in the Ligue 1 and won the Coupe de France after beating Nice in the final.

Amoo, on the other hand, was nominated in the Young Player of the Year (Men) category alongside nine others.

The 20-year-old won the Danish Super Liga with FC Copenhagen in the 2021/22 season having come from Swedish side Hammarby, where he won the Svenska Cupen in 2020.

Amoo was part of the Nigerian U-17 squad which competed at the CAF U-17 AFCON and the FIFA U-17 World Cup both in 2019, and later promoted to the senior team.

Meanwhile, the 30-man Men’s Player of The Year category was notably missing Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen who plays at Napoli in the Italian Serie A.

Osimhen, with the Super Eagles, failed to qualify for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, and were knocked out in the Round of 16 at the 2021 AFCON by Tunisia.

Nigeria also missed out of the nomination in the Men’s National Team of the Year category with Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Comoros, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia making the cut.

Some of the players who made the Men’s Player of the Year nominees list include, Riyad Mahrez, Bertrand Traore, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Karl Toko Ekambi, Vincent Aboubacar, Franck Kessie, Sebastien Haller, Mohamed ElNeny, Mohamed Salah, Musa Barrow, Naby Keita, Yves Bissouma, Achraf Hakimi, Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Sadio Mane.

The PUNCH reports that the awards ceremony will hold on July 21, 2022, in Morocco.

The CAF Awards 2022 will be held before the final of the Africa Women Cup of Nations in Morocco, scheduled to take place from July 2 to July 23.