By Femi Atolagbe
|
Ondo State Residents Football Tournament has been described as a competition put in place as an act of respect for the indigenous players in the state.
Chairman Local Organisation Committee, Henry Abiodun, who said that the tournament is also a form of talent hunt, added that if there is one or two that are good, they will be recommended for Sunshine Stars screening .
He said it is an opportunity for the outstanding football players in the state to display their talents for Sunshine Stars coaches and other stakeholders can see what we have in the state.
The former Sunshine Stars Technical Adviser stated this during the opening ceremony of the competition organised by the Ondo State government in collaboration with a betting company at the state sports complex, Akure.
He said: “If we can get some good players in the competition, they have opportunity to attend Sunshine Stars trial, where the coaches will assess them if they will fit in to his team.”
“There are lots of scout here at the sporting arena monitoring the players, at the end they will tell us why they pick certain player, why we should send such player to Sunshine Stars trial.”
“Personally, I have seen one or two good players, but I don’t judge players with just a match at the end of three games we should be able to see those that are consistent.”
Meanwhile, Emalex FC had earlier played a goaless draw with Ekimogun FC in the opening match of the competition while Aso Football Academy defeated Able God 1-0.
In a chat with newsmen, Aso Football Academy coach, Peter Anoruo said his side’s victory against their opponent was due to their preparation, saying they were well prepared for the tournament.
We didn’t score much goal in the match due to our game plan, but I can assure you that we are going to win our next match convincingly.
The Able God, coach, Onochie nwokoma said his team lost the game to fatigue adding that they have played an NLO match.
He said there would be much improvement form his players in their next game.
Zions Football lost 0-1 to OSOPADEC in the first game of the match day two, while NPFL Stars played a goalless draw in the second match.
