By Dipo Olowookere
Winners have emerged in the male and female categories of the prestigious GTBank Masters Cup Season 9, which climaxed last week.
In the final match of the male category played last Friday at the Campos Stadium, Lagos Island, Eko Boys High School defeated Anwar Ul Islam by 2-0. The victory was a testimony to resilience as Eko Boys had tried for many years to win the coveted trophy.
In the third-place game played on Thursday, June 17, Kings College were winners in a 3-0 walkover in the absence of Greensprings College, Lekki.
In the female category, the highlight of the day was the third-place match that ended in a 5-1 victory for Queens College, Yaba over Ansar Ur Deen College, Itire. In the finals, Greensprings College, Lekki, lost 3-0 to the defending champions, Lead Forte Garden College.
“Sports has an immense capacity to shape young minds, and after the unprecedented disruptions of the previous year, we are delighted that young people can get back on the pitch to imbibe the values of excellence, teamwork and fair play,” the MD/CEO of GTBank, Mr Segun Agbaje, said.
“At GTBank, we will continue to champion programmes that bring the values of sports to school compounds and give young people the platform to hone their talents and build character whilst staying focused on their academics,” he assured.
The GTBank Masters Cup Season 9 only made a return last week 15 months after the COVID-19 pandemic put a pause to the competition, which is regarded as one of Nigeria’s illustrious grassroots football competitions.
Founded in 2012, the GTBank Masters Cup is an annual football tournament for secondary schools, which is renowned for discovering the best young football talent in the country, with many past and present players now on trials and scholarships with football clubs and academies in Nigeria and abroad.
Modupe Gbadeyanka