ABUJA – Mr Alhassan Yakmut, the Chairman, Organising Committee of the maiden President’s Cup
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”8″]football tournament, says the zonal elimination for the competition has kicked off in three centres.
Yakmut made the disclosure in Abuja on Saturday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″](NAN).
He named the centres as Kaduna for the North-West region, Bauchi for the North-East region and Uyo for the South-South region.
“From the report I got from the centres as at yesterday (Friday), which was the arrival date for the [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]participating states, they have all got to the various centres.
“And they are expected to start their matches today, so that they will round up by Jan. 22 which is the [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]last day for the zonal elimination,’’ Yakmut said.
NAN reports that the President’s Cup is a private-sector driven initiative, designed to promote the growth of football, particularly at the grassroots.
The tournament is an age-grade tournament for players between the ages of 16 and 19.
It is being played from the local government to the states level and to the zonal level before its grand finale at the national level.
Yakmut, however, noted that Saturday was the arrival date for the remaining three centres for the matches to start on Sunday.
“As the first three centres are starting their matches today, the arrival date for the remaining centres is today.
“So, they — Jos for North-Central, Akure for South-West and Umuahia for South-East — will start their matches on Sunday,’’ Yakmut said.
He said that the state governors of the host states had, however, pledged their support for the tournament.
“The state governors of the host states have keyed into the initiative and they have shown interest and given their support for the tournament.
“This is to tell us that we have those that are in support of this initiative and that is a plus for us,’’ Yakmut said.
NAN reports that matches will be played in the centres by 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. (NAN)
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