By Nelson Dafe on June 17, 2019

FC Porto of Portugal and Nigerian international midfielder Mikel Agu is eager to see more talented footballers from grassroots football clubs make the climb up to professional football. Towards this end, he is sponsoring a competition to serve as an avenue for the players to express themselves and play for prestige and financial rewards.

The maiden edition of the Mikel Agu Super Cup will kick off on the morning of Tuesday,18 June in two venues in Benin City.

The tournament which promises the best of the best of grassroots football fireworks will see 8 teams, including the likes of BJ Foundation, Benin Warriors, Rockers and Ine Stars do battle at the Arinze primary school football field and the Crescent Sports complex in the Edo State capital.

Mikel Agu, a BJ Foundation product, is donating a handsome sum of money for the competition to be shared amongst all the semi-finalists in the tournament, with the winners, runners up and 3rd placed teams receiving the highest sums related to where they finish.

Agu is currently holidaying in Benin City and a source close to the player tells Daily Sports that the midfielder who played for Vitoria Setubal of Portugal’s top flight league on loan from Porto, would be around to watch some of the matches. He is said to be desirous of making the tournament a yearly affair in order to thicken the football space of Edo State and give clubs and players one more competition to look forward to in their yearly calendar.

Meanwhile, there are two groups of four teams in the competition with Group A looking very much like the ‘Group of Death’.

BJ, Benin Warriors, Eagles Wings and Rolly FC are in Group A and these are bigwig clubs who are at the apex level of grassroots football in the state.

The opening match of the tournament is between 2016 Edo State League champions Benin Warriors and Eagles Wings, with the Warriors having to confront Eagles Wings at their Sports Crescent, Ahuogba base on Tuesday morning. Eagles Wings team have a remarkable recent history of selling players to both European and Nigerian professional clubs. Kick-off time is 8:00 a.m.

BJ Foundation, a club renowned for developing top class talents who have gone on to represent Nigeria internationally and who currently play their club football in big European leagues, including the likes of Chelsea’s Victor Moses, Isaac Success of Wartford and Erhu Obanor of Guether Furth in Germany, will come up against Rolly FC at the Arinze Primary School pitch later on Tuesday.

Rolly FC are a relatively new club in Benin City who are making waves at the moment, with heavy financial backing coming from their owner Roland Inonoje, a Benin City-based Bet9ja Super Agent.

Rockers FC, known for their fine football and for supplying players to professional football clubs in recent times, will compete in Group B against former Edo State FA Cup champions Ine Stars in Group B. Two other new and ambitious clubs, Eagles United and Light FC complete the group.

•Photo shows Nigerian international Mikel Age in action

Source Daily Sports

Posted June 17, 2019

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