FirstBank Samuel Okwaraji U-16 Tournament Moves To Zonal Qualifiers

The FirstBank Samuel Okwaraji U-16 National Football Tournament has moved into its zonal qualification stage following the completion of the state-level preliminaries across the country.

The competition, which is supported by FirstBank under its First@Sports initiative, featured secondary schools from 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) during the preliminary phase.

The zonal qualifiers will determine the six teams that will represent Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones at the national finals in Abuja.

In the northern region, the qualifiers are scheduled to run from 19 to 24 September, with three centres hosting teams from the different zones.

Bauchi will host the North-East qualifiers, Kaduna will stage the North-West contest, while the FCT will be the venue for the North-Central qualifiers.

The southern qualifiers will follow from 25 to 30 September, with Lagos hosting the South-West teams, Asaba accommodating the South-South representatives and Owerri staging the South-East qualifiers.

At the conclusion of the zonal stage, one team from each of the six geopolitical zones will advance to the national finals.

The competition also provides an opportunity for coaches and scouts to assess young players at an important stage of their development, with the participating schools expected to provide a pathway for identifying emerging football talent.

The zonal stage is expected to produce more competitive encounters as teams battle for the limited places at the national finals.

For the young players involved, progression to the final stage will provide an opportunity to compete against some of the leading school teams from other parts of the country and gain further exposure in a structured youth competition.

The tournament is named after the late Samuel Okwaraji, the former Nigerian international who died while representing the country during a World Cup qualifying match against Angola in Lagos in 1989.