Follow Us on Google
From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
Sen. Osita Izunaso , representing Imo West senatorial district, on Tuesday in Owerri, Imo state capital unveiled the maiden First Bank Sam Okwaraji memorial Nigeria Secondary Schools Football Championship in Imo.
Senator Izunaso represented by the Secretary of the championship’s Organising Committee, Mr Chidozie Achonwa, sponsored by First Bank , is organised by the Samuel Okwaraji Foundation in collaboration of the Nigerian School Sports Federation, the Nigeria Football Federation and the National Sports Commission respectively. He also said that the championship would pay a special tribute to the Okwaraji family and honour the late Sam Okwaraji whom he described as a “true patriot and national team player who gave his all and died in active service while playing for the national team for the world cup qualifier against Angola on August 12, 1989.
“ Through this championship, we seek to immortalise his selflessness, patriotism, academic excellence, discipline and courage, while nurturing the next generation of football talents from the grassroots.
Continuing Izunaso said that, “ Okwaraji was a lawyer, a scholar and a footballer who played for love of country, not for personal gain “.
He commended the National Institute for Sports led by Mr Philip Shuaibu, for its dedication to sports education, capacity building and technical support for grassroots development.
Other News
He also thanked the members of the Senate and House of Representatives committees on sports development as well as the Imo Government for their support and commitment to the success of the initiative.
He urged participating schools to see the platform as an opportunity to showcase their talents, build school pride and create visibility for their institutions at state and national levels.
Speaking at the event, the Imo Commissioner for Sports, Hon Obinna Evaristus Onyeocha said that the ministry was “fully partnering with the organisers” for the success of the championship.
Also, the Director, School Sports, of the Imo Ministry of Education, Mr Joseph Achugamonu, said that participating schools were carefully selected to ensure that the best talents would get a chance to represent the school at the zonal level.
He advised participating students to utilize the opportunity to make a name for their schools and achieve viable exposure.
The preliminaries of the nationwide championship will commence on Wednesday, July 1, for the southern states while that of the northern states already began on June 26.
