Former Nigeria football international, Femi Ajilore has showered encomium on the organizer of the yearly Obubra unity tournament in Cross Rives state, Caesar Abam, for organizing a football tournament that is geared towards fostering peaceful coexistence amongst the communities and discovering new football talents.
Ajilore was one of the many dignitaries who were on the ground in the town of Obubra, a community in Cross River state. The football tournament which was organized specifically to promote peaceful coexistence among the people of Obubra and beyond also attracted dignitaries like the commissioner of sports in the state, Queen Gladys Igut, the permanent secretary to the state, Mrs. Beatrice Akonjom, and host of top politicians.
Ajilore also expressed happiness with the response of the communities to the tournament considering the high number of participating teams. At the end of the explosive encounters, team Ababene emerged as champion taking home the three hundred thousand Naira prize money. He also noted that beyond fostering peaceful coexistence amongst the communities which was the main mandate of the tournament, the tournament provided a platform to discover talents from within the communities.
“It was a good initiative because they tried to bring different communities together to come and play since football is a big tool for unifying people. There had been some issues within the communities but after the tournament, most of the communities were in accord to make peace. A lot of the youths were there and they were all happy. Other dignitaries representing some political parties that were also on the ground were impressed with the tournament. They even promised to support the community by building a new stadium for them so that the youths can have something to do which would also help in their developmental process through sports. Basically, the idea is to expose the youths to scouts, just like I was there with the hope of scouting for good players. If the youths are engaged like that you never know what can happen in the future. A player can be discovered from there and he would go all out to be a big ambassador of that community and there is a lot he can do for the family and loved ones as well,”
Convener of the football Tournament, Caesar Abam revealed that beyond the purpose of using the football tournament to preach peace amongst the communities, or also to discover talents, he noted that it also provided an opportunity for families and friends to meet with themselves and socialize.
He stated further, “The pig picture is beyond the sporting benefit which is to discover talents, the conflict resolution objective is also very important. We want to showcase the talents of persons who had not had the opportunity to be scouted despite their talents. People like Saido Mane, Femi Ajilores, and their likes; are guys who grew up at the grassroots. And we want to bring people who normally do not see each other face to face, We will use football as a medium that unites people beyond their differences so that they can set aside all their biases,”
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