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Former Super Eagles striker Obafemi Martins has announced plans to organise a youth football tournament in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s campaign for the 2027 presidential election.
Martins disclosed this during an interview on TVC, saying the tournament, which he described as the “Renewed Hope tournament”, would be held in November.
The former Inter Milan and Newcastle United forward said teams from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones would participate, with two or three additional teams expected to join the competition.
“There’s a tournament that I’m doing for His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu that I’m doing for his campaign, the renewal youth tournament, and I’m doing it with, I think, the geopolitical zone, which is six, and I’m adding more two to three teams with it,” Martins said.
He said the tournament would serve a wider purpose beyond political support, particularly by creating opportunities for young Nigerians through football.
“I think I’m just happy to do it for the president with all his hard work and all that. And that is not just for the president, it’s for the Nigerians and the Nigerian youth as well; how we can help them,” he said.
Martins confirmed that he would personally fund the tournament and said it would take place in November.
“Yes, I’m doing it in November,” he said when asked whether he was funding the initiative himself.
The announcement comes weeks after Martins expressed support for Seyi Tinubu’s potential future leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation.
Speaking on the Mikel Obi podcast, Martins described Seyi Tinubu as young and said he understood the concerns of Nigerians.
“I think Seyi Tinubu can be the president of NFF. He’s young and understands what Nigerians want. He’s not the president yet, but he’s making efforts,” Martins said.
Martins’ planned tournament will bring together youth teams from across the six geopolitical zones as he combines his football initiative with his publicly stated support for Tinubu’s 2027 campaign.
