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It will be an action-packed 10 days as the best of football clubs in the three tiers of Nigeria’s domestic league will give anxious fans many to cheer, as the 10th edition of the Optima Energy Gold Cup kicks off today in Ikenne and Sagamu in Ogun State.
The tournament, which is the flagship of all preseason tourneys in Nigeria, will run from September 22 to October 1.
Four Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) sides, Niger Tornadoes, Shooting Stars, Sunshine Stars, Gombe United and defending champion, Remo Stars will set the pace for other teams as they try out their best legs for the tournament.
Newly promoted Nigeria National League side, FC Ebedei, Gateway FC, Beyond Limits and Hammola FC of Osogbo are tagged the ‘giant killers’, as they are expected to give the top teams a good run in the tourney.
The General Coordinator of the tournament, Tunde Shamsudeen, said: “After more than a month of planning, we are delighted that our historic 10th edition kicks off with interesting fixtures at the two host venues, Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne and FC Ebedei Stadium in Sagamu.
“The three divisions of the Nigerian domestics leagues are all represented with five (5) from the NPFL, three (3) in the NNL and two (2) from the Nationwide League One (NLO).
“The Optima Energy Gold Cup has proven to be the best platform for clubs to prepare adequately going into the season, as we have three teams, Sporting Lagos, Gateway FC and Hammola FC that will be making their debut.
“A few unique factors about the Optima Energy Gold Cup are the successes records at the end of the season by the participating teams. The tourney is known to have prepared teams that have gone ahead to win the NPFL title, picked a CAF inter-club ticket or earned a promotion ticket.
