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With few weeks to the start of the new season in the Nigeria Professional Football League, organisers of the ValueJet pre-season tournament believe the competition will achieve its objective of helping participating clubs prepare for the incoming football season on the domestic scene as well as on the continent following the successful completion of this year’s edition.
Shooting Stars won the second edition of the eight-team tourney on Thursday beating Beyond Limits 2-0 at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne, to claim their first title.
Two first-half goals from Taofeek Malomo and Gali Falke were enough for the Oluyole Warriors to win the title after also seeing off last year’s winners, Remo Stars 3-0 in the semi-final.
Remo Stars won the maiden edition in 2022.
3SC’s Malomo was voted the Man of the Match for his impressive performance in the final, and he became the 15th winner of the tournament.
Beyond Limits’ Obasi Onyebuchi was named the Player of the Tournament, with his two goals and two assists from five games.
The clubs that took part in the second edition are winners 3SC, past winners Remo Stars, Kwara United, Beyond Limits Academy, Rivers United, Abia Warriors, Sporting Lagos and Heartland.
Chairman of the tourney, Tade Azeez, appreciated the sponsors, clubs, media, and football fans for a successful tournament.
“We are grateful for their support towards the growth of Nigerian football. We are excited about what we did this year, we made tremendous improvements from the first edition and we have challenged ourselves to improve every year.
“We appreciate the eight clubs for accepting our invitation, they all added glamour to the tournament. Their professionalism was top-notch and their passion for their respective clubs is unprecedented. We wish all the clubs success in the NPFL and CAF games, we hope to see all of them at the top.”
One of the highpoints of this year’s tournament was the late inclusion of Beyond Limits Football Academy who went on to reach the final.
In the process, their goalkeeper, Daniel Aiyenugba, also stole the show in an epic clash against his father and former Super Eagles keeper, Dele Aiyenugba, in the semi-final. The 15-year-old and his dad saved a penalty each in the shootout as the academy boys triumphed 4-3 on penalties after coming back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
“The tournament will have a positive effect on their season, and we are optimistic. The Academy Boys as our wildcard became the most popular club in the tournament, and the feedback was positive. We will be looking forward to the boys doing great things in the future,” Azeez said.