Pre-Season: Eko Int’l Cup Title Excites Ikorodu City

Ikorodu City Football Club, a Nigeria Professional Football League outfit, has expressed excitement over winning the Eko International Cup on Sunday. The team emerged as champions of the EIC, a pre-season football tournament, after recording a 1-0 victory over Smart City FC at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan. Emmanuel Solomon scored the only goal of the encounter barely one minute into the game.

Sam Bamisebi, Media Officer of Ikorodu City, stated that the victory was a morale booster for the team but, more importantly, it served as a good test for the new players. “The management and technical crew are delighted about the trophy. It is not just about winning, but the fact that the boys were all hungry for success with the team.

“We are familiar with Smart City, from coaches to players, so it was a tough match. The team is still a work in progress because we fielded some academy players for assessment. Overall, it was a good tournament.”

This tournament concluded a highly interesting and engaging competition involving four top teams in the NPFL and two other teams in the domestic league. SKI-Hi Entertainment, in collaboration with the Lagos State Government, organised the competition to prepare teams for the next football season and to entertain fans in Lagos during the off-season.

Ikorodu City played to a 2-2 draw with Shooting Stars in their first match and also earned a technical victory over Rivers United to qualify for the final. Smart City, meanwhile, defeated 36 Lions 3-1 and Remo Stars 1-0 to secure their place in the final. In the third-place match, Rivers United were ruthless against Remo Stars, winning 3-0 with two goals from Philip Odubia and one from Ubong Friday.

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Executive Director of Publicity and Strategy for the Local Organising Committee of the EIC, Onome Obruthe, stated that the tournament achieved its purpose. “It was a huge success, and we are very happy because all the teams had fun. Our plan is to stage a bigger pre-season tournament next year, and planning starts immediately,” Obruthe said.