The Director General of the Prosperity Cup, Mr Ono Akpe has declared that the Bayelsa State Governor’s Football Tournament is achieving set results.
Akpe made the declaration while speaking to journalists shortly after the Yenagoa Local Government final encounter between Bayelsa United Feeders and Eternal Grace Ministries (EGM) FC.
He said he is very excited that within the space of seven years the tournament has grown so big and that some players scouted from the competition are now plying their trade within and outside the country, pointing out that, that was the whole essence of the Prosperity Cup, which is unarguably the biggest grassroots football tournament in the country.
According to the DG, “I am excited that a product of the 2023 edition of the Prosperity Cup, Precious Benjamin, who plays for Hoffenheim in Germany, is presently part of the national Under-20 football team that won bronze in the just-concluded AFCON U-20 Championship in far away Morocco.
“We are particularly excited that our players are getting the recognition they deserve. That is the whole essence of the Prosperity Cup. Our dream is that the tournament will serve as a springboard for our youths to play for big Nigerian club sides just as some will ply their trade abroad. We are fulfilling that dream and hopefully we will do more at the end of the tournament. I am super excited that our efforts are yielding dividends”.
No fewer than six Prosperity Cup products are currently with Bayelsa United. A sizeable number are scattered across club sides in Nigeria while a plying their trade abroad. The women are not left out as Harmony John who played for the grassroots club, Golden Sun Sports Club is now a proud member of the Bayelsa Queens squad.
Speaking of the quality of play in the Yenagoa finals, in which EGM defeated Bayelsa United Feeders by two goals to one, Akpe said “We are very thrilled, it was a very technical game, you could see both teams are young, youthful and very vibrant, and were eager to take the prize. We are impressed because we are seeing quality football at every stage of the competition”.
Giving an insight into what spectators should expect in the Prosperity Cup final, Akpe said “it would be explosive and would be as good as any football competition final, even the F.A. Cup final. We are having both the male and female finals. There is going to be a lot of excitement and a lot of entertainment. It is going to be a pot pourri of music, culture and football.
The Director General also said “In furtherance of our desire to have more of our players going out, His Excellency, Governor Douye Diri has approved the invitation of 10 coaches from across the country, including the Director of the Technical Department of the NFF, Austine Eguavoen. They will be in Yenagoa one full week before the final. They will be coming to watch the quarter finals, semi finals and the grand finale. It is our expectation that more Bayelsa youths will be picked up by club sides across the country”.
The grand finale of the Prosperity Cup has been scheduled to hold on Saturday, May 31, 2025.
