Femi Atolagbe

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Ibrahim Gusau has charged teams participating in the NFF/CBN Financial Institutions Football Competition to be dedicated and disciplined.

The preliminary stage of the competition has two centres, which are; Akure and Kano with two groups for each of the centres chosen for the preliminary stage of the competition.

The six teams that would be slugging it out at the Akure centre are; Brightway MFB, First Bank, FIRS, Brass MFB, COE MFB, and SEC.

The Kano centre has Tangale MFB, Access Bank, Unity Bank, Dadin Kowa MFB, Jaiz Bank, and Bubayero MFB.

The commencement of the competition on Wednesday, at the Ondo State Sports Complex, Akure, the Nigeria Football President, Ibrahim Gusau charged all participating teams officials to ensure discipline was their watchword.

Gusau, represented by the Ondo State Football Association Chairman and a Board member of the NFF, Otunba Dele Ajayi said all teams should abide by the rules of the game.

The NFF President urged the teams to avoid causing confusion and all the winners after matches should also be magnanimous in victory.

He said that participants must ensure that the Akure centre emerged as one of the best centres of the competition.

“I want you to play to the rules of the game, there must be fair play and in all the zones, I want this zone to be the best. Let us be disciplined, if officials are not disciplined, the players will not be disciplined, what the players’ exhibit will be what you officials are training them to be.

“Some people are making insinuations that Nigeria is not at the world cup, is Nigeria the only team in Africa? You win some and lose some, we can’t win always, Argentina lost yesterday, invariably they may still be the winner of the cup.

“They will go back to the drawing board, so see it like that too, Nigeria can still win the World cup one day, you are not in Qatar this year, so we should not lose hope, we will go back to the drawing board and prepare for the next World Cup. So if you lost any match, don’t cause confusion, be disciplined,” he charged the team officials.

Gusau has charged the referee representative to ensure that fair play should be their watchword from the start of the game till the end.

The Zonal Coordinator of the competition, Mohammed Ameenu, also enjoined all the officials to subscribe to fair play and also play fair.

Ameenu welcomed the teams to Akure and urged them to ensure the teams ensured that the Akure center emerged as one of the best.