Eight states and 13 teams have signed up for the maiden edition of the Late Stephen Keshi National U-17 Football tournament, the organisers said on Wednesday.
The General Secretary of the tournament, Danladi Musa, who made the disclosure to newsmen in Lagos, said the tournament would hold from June 1 to June 7 in Benin, the Edo State Capital.
“The first edition of the Stephen Keshi National U-17 football tournament is set to kick off with eight states comprising of thirteen teams from Friday, June 1 to June 7 in Benin.
“The participating teams are Oceanic Stars FC (Rivers) Recovery Football Academy, Freiburgerweg Football Academy (Lagos) Rahbam Sports FC (Plateau) and Lasora Spring Soccer Academy (Kwara).
“Others are Kingdom Stars Football Academy (Bayelsa), Solo Wonders Football Club (Abia), Obazuwa FC, Cowbell Football Academy, BJ Foundation FC, Fortress Football Academy, Edo Rock Star FC and Ogunmala FC (Delta).
“The teams will arrive in Benin on May 31 to kick start the preliminaries on June 1, and the grand finale will be on June 7, at the Crescent Club football pitch in GRA Benin,’’ he said.
Musa said that the competition was in partnerships with the Nigerian professional footballers and Stephen Keshi Football and Vocational Centre.
“The tournament is part of activities organised by the National Association of Nigeria Professional Footballers (NANPF) in conjunction with the Stephen Keshi Football and Vocational Training Centre.
“The competition is to mark the second anniversary ceremony of late Stephen Keshi Keshi, former national team captain and coach of the Super Eagles who died in Benin on the 7th of June 2016.
“A technical committee has been put in place to select the best players from the tournament to play a game with the National U-17 team.
“It will give the selected players the opportunity to be part of the national team.
