From Rowland ‘Shuwa, Ilorin
16 teams comprising of five Universities, five Polytechnics, five Colleges of Education and one from Innovative Entrepreneur Initiative (I.E.I) drawn across the country will battle for the first prize of the 2019 JAMB Tertiary Institutions Football Championship scheduled to hold in October this year News Hub Mag! reports
Addressing Journalists on Saturday (September 7, 2019) at the Conference Hall of the Kwara state Ministry of Sport and Youth Development, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alhaji Akanbi Abdulquadir Shuaib disclosed that a sum of N1m has been set aside as first prize for the winner, N750,000 as second prize while the third position winner will go home with a N500,000 prize.
According to him the tournament which is scheduled to hold between 13th and 20th of October, 2019 will be declared open by the Kwara state governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as the Special Guest of Honour while the closing ceremony would hold on the 19th of October.
News Hub Mag! gathered that other dignitaries expected to grace the grand finale, according to the Permanent Secretary, include the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare; the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu; the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Is’haq Oloyede; Board Chairman and members of JAMB; the host Vice Chancellor, Professor Sulyman Age Abdulkareem; as well as other Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Provosts and other stakeholders.
The Permanent Secretary warned that only bonafide students of the participating institutions would be allowed to participate in the tournament as there would be no room for mercenaries.
He particularly thanked JAMB for not relenting in sponsoring the tournament, saying that the game has further cemented the cordial relationship among various institutions of higher learning in the country.
Alhaji Shuaib who assured all participating institutions, officials and players that all their entitlements including feeding, accommodation and other logistics would be accorded top priority and paid accordingly appealed and cautioned match officials to ensure free and fair officiating and respect all the rules and regulations of the game of football.
He commended JAMB for sponsoring the tournament since 2017 adding that it would serve as an avenue to discover football talents from the grassroots for future national and international competitions and also help foist cordial relationships among the tertiary institutions.
While thanking members of the steering committee for their sense of understanding and cooperation, Shuaib disclosed that the last two events held in 2017 and 2018 have no doubt discovered football talents in the country.
He expressed optimism that the tournament would further discover more talents who would in turn represent Nigeria in future football tournaments.
In his remarks, the Director of Sports, Kwara State Sport Council, Coach Tunde Kazeem said the University of Ilorin stadium at the institution’s Permanent Site and the Kwara state Stadium complex, Ilorin would be used for the tournament.
He said adequate security has been mapped out to ensure a hitch-free tournament.
Also speaking shortly after the briefing, the Director of Sport, University of Ilorin, Professor Olufunmilola Dominic said the University of Ilorin was fully ready to host the tournament.
Professor Dominic advised the visiting players to behave themselves while on Unilorin campus, even as she was confident that Unilorin team will win the tournament. Highlights of the event include drawing of table, just as the 16 participating institutions were categorized into four groups (Groups A to D).
