By Nelson Dafe on August 18, 2021
The newly formed Benin City Youth Football Club Owners Association (BYCOA) is continuing to blaze the trail and positively change the narrative about grassroots football organisation.
The association, which has birthed the ongoing, highly entertaining and widely followed Benin City Youth League (a competition involving the top 12 grassroots clubs from Benin City), is putting together a ‘League Cup’ competition to run alongside the Benin City Youth League.
The new competition, which will involve the participating teams of the Benin City Youth League and some other invited clubs outside the league, is named the Egharevba Charity League Cup after the famous five Egharevba brothers who were very popular players during their grassroots playing days in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
The brothers – Osahenrun, Osayo, John, Nosa and Osamudiamen – who are based in the United States and the UK are sponsoring the League Cup competition with N1.2 million as cash prizes for the first three teams. The first prize is 600,000 naira, while the second placed team will receive 400,000 naira and the third placed finishers will smile home with 200,000 naira cash prize.
A spokesman for the Egharevba brothers said it is the brothers’ desire to contribute to the growth of football in Edo State. “The Egharevba brothers passed through grassroots football in Edo State having received their football training education from BJ Foundation FC in Benin City. They are well aware that constant competition makes players to improve, so they want to contribute their own quota to helping the Edo State football scene to enjoy constant competition,” the spokesman said.
BYCOA Chairman, Mr Douglas Idahosa, is elated by the support from the Egharevba brothers.
“We at BYCOA are determined to push football forward in Benin City and we are very happy to see people from different parts of the world keying in to our ideas. I’m very grateful to the Egharevba brothers for their huge sponsorship of the League Cup and I can assure that the competition will be a hit. Clubs want to engage their players regularly and the League club, alongside the Benin City Youth League, which is ongoing, will help the club’s to achieve the aim,” Idahosa noted.
The League Cup will take the group format, with 16 clubs expected to be drawn in four groups.
The four semi-finalists will get quality sets of jerseys each from the sponsors, while there will be other top individual prizes for Most Valuable Player (MVP), Best Coach, Best Referee, etc, of the Egharevba Charity League Cup.
Registration for the competition closes at the end of August while the tournament kicks off from early September.
•PHOTO: The trophy donated by the Egharevba brothers for the Charity League Cup.
Source Daily sports
Posted August 18, 2021
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