ELIZABETH VINCENT, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State and Spain’s football giant, Barcelona, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a football academy in the state.
The commissioner for sports, Dr. Daniel Igali, signed on behalf of the state government while Mr. Bernat Villa Garris signed on behalf of Barcelona during the grand finale of the Bayelsa governor’s football tournament tagged, ‘Prosperity Cup 2026 at the Samson Siasia sports complex in Yenagoa on Friday.
Former President, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Amaju Pinnick, and the federation’s Secretary General, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, witnessed the ceremony.
In the male final, Okoroma United of Nembe local government won by 1-0 against Akinima Biogbo of Ogboloma in Yenagoa local government area to emerge champions of the 8th edition of the tournament.
Okoroma went home with the star prize of N40 million while Akinima Biogbo got N13 million.
In the female category, Active Ladies of Agudama defeated the defending champions, Afini Ladies of Amarata, also by a lone goal to clinch the prize of N10 million while the runners up got N7 million.
An excited governor of Bayelsa state senator Douye Diri, said the agreement with one of Europe’s biggest football teams would pave the way for more youths in the state to be productively engaged in the game and steer them away from unwholesome practices.
He said his administration will continue to prioritise investment in sports and assured of its commitment to deliver the 30,000-seater stadium project in 2027.
Governor Diri stated that as a youth development initiative, the prosperity cup was now bigger having been expanded from where his administration met the tournament in 2020 when it assumed office to become one of the biggest grassroots football tournaments in Nigeria.
Diri, who commended the players for exhibiting professionalism, acknowledged the improved standard of play, noting that majority of them were from the state.
Describing football as a money-spinning sport capable of bringing youths into the limelight, the Bayelsa governor appreciated the organising committee led by Mr. Ono Akpe as well as the partners and sponsors of the competition for their interest in developing the game.
The sponsors include Premium Trust Bank, Linkage Assurance PLC, Niger Delta Development Commission, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Arco Engineering, Binad Table Water among others, urging corporate organisations to emulate their example.
His words, “On assuming office, we saw the governor’s football tournament as a tool for youth engagement, development and empowerment,so we wasted no time in investing in and expanding it.
“Last year more than 100 teams participated but in this year’s edition there were 227 teams and we also introduced the female and para categories,almost every club in the world now has a female team we had 21 female teams in this edition and it is still developing.”
The governor however expressed disappointment over the dismal performance of the state owned Bayelsa united in this season’s Nigeria professional football league and charged its management and the Sports commissioner to ensure the team was not relegated to the lower division.
Speaking shortly after signing the MoU, Mr. Garris said the Barcelona delegation had discovered a lot of talents in the state.
“It is a pleasure for us to be here in Bayelsa to see the big improvement that the state is making in sports and we will love to be part of this big event.
“We would like to come more often supporting the development of players and coaches. For us, it is a real pleasure,” he said.
Also, Mr. Pinnick, who was chairman of the event, lauded the Diri administration for being intentional about sports development.
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