Follow Us on Google
By Funsho Arogundade
To commemorate the 20th coronation anniversary of His Royal Majesty, Oba Michael Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo Okukenu IV, the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, the Royalty Club of Egbaland, will be organising a South West Junior Tournament in his honour.
According to Lion Tunde Aregbesola, the President of the Royalty Club and Accountant General of Ogun State, the tournament will be for the Under-16 and Under-19 categories and it holds at the Club Squash Complex, Ake Palace and Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Squash Complex, Abeokuta on November 21 and 22, 2025. The grand finale will be held at the Royalty Club Squash Complex on November 22.
Aregbesola stated that Oba Gbadebo, being an ardent squash racket player, is interested in youth development in the game and this informed the club’s decision to organise the tournament to mark this milestone event. “Oba Gbadebo has so much interest in squash and he encourages the young ones to play the game, that is why Royalty Club is giving the young ones a chance to excel in it,” he said.
Other News
He further disclosed that the tournament is organised in conjunction with Chief (Arch.) Tokunbo Omisore, the founder of Ajisewa Egba Foundation.
Royalty Club of Egbaland, formerly known as Ake Royalty Boys, was established 18 years ago, to foster social, economic, cultural and sporting development in Nigeria and promote squash in Egbaland, in tandem with the interest of Oba Gbadebo.
The maiden edition of the competition —held to commemorate Oba Gbadebo’s 10th coronation anniversary— had 40 young players drawn from Lagos, Ogun and Kwara States. Since its establishment, the association has given a lot of promotion to squash in the country. It regularly organises Ake Palace Squash Clinic for the youths, and it would be recalled that it launched the Youth Squash Academy, in conjunction with Ogun State Squash Association and the Nigerian Squash Federation at OOPL Squash Complex, Abeokuta, to mark Oba Gbadebo’s 75th birthday, in 2018.
