Adekunbi Ero
All is set for the kick-off Wednesday, September 7, 2022, of the second edition of the Betsy Obaseki Women Football Tournament, BOWFT, in which the sum of ₦5 million is at stake. The tournament, which is the brainchild of wife of Edo State governor, Betsy Obaseki, is aimed at drumming up support for the state government’s campaign against drug abuse, especially among youths.
In order to ensure a hitch-free event, the first lady on Monday, led other members of the organising committee for the BOWFT on an inspection of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, and other facilities for the tournament.
The sponsor of the tournament told journalists that “The Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium will host the opening and closing ceremony of the game. The final will be played here. We have other facilities to be used for the competition apart from this stadium. We are expecting 13 teams as we had many requests, but can’t accommodate more teams. Last year, it was 12; and next year, it might be 14 teams. We are prepared, and the girls are ready to do better than they did last year. This year’s winner will go home with N5 million.
“The philosophy of the tournament is to have a lasting effect on our girls. We had a lot of lashing with human trafficking. We are working hard and trying to create another avenue for our girls to earn dollars. We are working to change the narrative of the image of the state.
“We have private and corporate sponsors. The first edition was world-class, and we got international recognition from FIFA for our effort. We will improve on it this year. We plan to have other activities aside from football. The competition is not all about football.”
Mrs. Obaseki said the competition last year focused on human trafficking, adding, “This year, it will be focusing on combating drug abuse in Nigeria. We will have discussions around the topic with our young girls, and also invite secondary school students to have interactions with us”.
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