Sports

Goals Galore as Amazing Grace FC Downs Firestone FC 3-1 in League Opener

Published

3 weeks ago

May 11, 2025

By Joel Ajayi

The much-anticipated Kuje Football League kicked off in grand style as Amazing Grace FC delivered a commanding 3-1 victory over Firestone FC in the opening match of the tournament.

Organized by the Kuje Football Association, the maiden edition of the league is aimed at fostering talent discovery and promoting unity through football across the Kuje Area Council.

The opening game, held at the Kuje Township Stadium, showcased a dominant performance from Amazing Grace FC. Nabala Vincent, wearing jersey number 8, opened the scoring early in the first half and quickly followed up with a second goal, completing a brace to give his team a 2-0 lead.

Just ten minutes later, Joseph Emmanuel extended the lead with a well-taken goal, putting Amazing Grace FC 3-0 ahead. Despite the pressure, Firestone FC managed to pull one back later in the game through Samuel Otisi, narrowing the final scoreline to 3-1.

With this strong start, Amazing Grace FC has set the tone for what promises to be an exciting and competitive tournament.

Speaking after the match, one of the sponsors of the league, Managing Director of Defemak Concepts Ltd., Akinwale Femi Stephen, praised the initiative, calling it a timely platform for youth development.

“This tournament is a bold and timely intervention in the effort to give the youth a voice through sport. Honestly, this is what we have been clamouring for, especially to keep the youth engaged. There is so much untapped talent out there, and football is a powerful tool that brings people together. I think this is a truly commendable and well-organized competition,” he said.

Also lending his support, Mr. Alex Alale, representative of Solution Estate, expressed his company’s commitment to the initiative.

“We are ready to assist in every aspect of this project. This is one of the best ways to connect with the youth. We’ve been in this community and understand the importance of initiatives like this. When the idea was presented to us, I keyed in 100%,” he stated.

As the tournament continues, anticipation builds for more thrilling matches and the opportunity for young talents to shine on the local stage.

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Sports

A Triumphant Close to the 22nd National Sports Festival

Published

3 days ago

May 29, 2025

The Gleamer

…As organisers promise another spectacle at closing ceremony on Thursday

Joel Ajayi

After 11 days of a true showcase of sporting competition in multiple Sports by some of the country’s top and even promising athletes, the curtain will finally be drawn on what many have described as one of the best ever organised National Sports festivals, when the closing ceremony is held on Thursday at the MKO Sports Arena in Abeokuta.

Whilst the quality of the Games’ opening ceremony is still getting tongues wagging, the entire sporting family and beyond is now anxiously looking forward to what the closing ceremony will look like.

The last 11 days have showcased Ogun state as a true Sporting hub with potential to even do more, with the quality of the facilities built for the games and the enthusiasm of the people who made the various venues their second home in the last few days.

A big testament to this was the history-making crowd that attended the male football final between Ogun state and Kwara State, which the host won by 4-1.

The MKO stadium was filled to full capacity while the crowd outside watching from the big screen reminds one of how much Sports is truly the soul of our togetherness as a country.

From the Alake Sports centre in Ijeja and the Baptist boys high school, to the Obafemi Awolowo square and the Remo stadium both in Ikenne, to the NYSC orientation camp in Shagamu, and the Ilisan town hall in Ilisan, the festival never lacked spectatorship throughout the games.

The Games actually lived up to the pre-tournament hype as both the National Sports Commission, NSC and the Ogun state Government pulled out every administrative capacity to ensure both athletes, officials and the media have an unforgettable experience.

The Gateway Games 2024 had been full of exciting drama and intrigues amongst the states and athletes which led to different new records being set and some old records being shattered.

The festival has also produced for the country some new exciting young talents especially with the shocking performance of the 38th state, the Invited Junior Athletes ( IJA), where they ended up winning some surprised medals to justify the Commission’s establishment of the initiative.

As the Closing ceremony holds on Thursday, the leadership of the National Sports commission, NSC, expresses its profound gratitude to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ogun State Government for making sure millions of Nigerian youths see a renewed brighter future in the country through the National Sports Festival.
The NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dilko said ” our overwhelming gratitude goes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, for his personal commitment to the development of Nigerian Sports by giving us every support financially and otherwise for the success of this festival”.

” And the Ogun state Governor, Dapo Abiodun also deserves a huge praise for the feat we all recorded with these games. I can’t thank him enough and posterity will surely remember him for good “.

The NSC Director General who is also the Chairman of the Main organising committee of the games, Hon Bukola Olopade also extended his gratitude to all the technocrats behind the scene that are responsible for the successful organisation of the games.

” From all the members of the Main organising committee to the various sub committees, to members of the local organising committees and all our technical officials in the various sports to the media and our athletes, every success that everyone is talking about concerning these Games belongs to you all”.

” Yes it was not a perfect festival because we acknowledged we had also some challenges but let me assure everyone that some of the challenges are already being worked upon ahead of the next Games holding in Enugu state next year”, he concluded.

The Closing ceremony is expected to bring together top Government functionaries to captain of industries while there will also be the rich cultural display of the state as Ogun state will officially pass the barton of hosting to Enugu state for the 23rd edition of the Games come September 2026.

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