By CHIEDU UCHE OKOYE

Some illustrious sons of Obosi kingdom, who make the town tick, have lauded the organisers and sponsors of the 2024 Obosi-inland town football competition while highlighting the pivotal roles, which football plays in societal development.

They bared their minds about the annual Obosi-inland town football competition following the emergence of the Ire village team as the winner of the competition on January 3, 2025 at the Obosi township stadium.

In his own comment, Rtd Col. Samuel Agbanusi, who served the Nigerian army for twenty-five years, described the concluded 2024 Obosi-inland town football competition as a unifying tool in Obosi, and prayed for the sustenance of the competition.

“I feel excited and fulfilled about the competition.

“It brought Obosi people together in one accord; and unity is key to any form of development in our society.

“Although my village, Ire, won this competition, it is a victory for the entire Obosi town because we are one people,” Agbanusi said.

More so, Rtd Col. Agbanusi, who gave princely sums of money to the villages that took first, second, and third positions in the annual Obosi football competition, posited that organizing the football competition was one of the ways by which football talents could be discovered for grooming.

And a member of the technical crew of the victorious Ire village team, Mr. Emeka Okolo (German Suker), attributed their team’s winning of the football competition to the surfeit of football talents, which abounds in Ire village.

He further said that the resilience, hard work, and focus exhibited by the Ire village team made it win the 2024 Obosi-inland town football competition in an amazing and astonishing way.

And Chief Sylvester Emeka Onwuekwe (Ogidi Obosi), who was a former goalkeeper of Vasco Da Gama F.C. between 1973 and 1975, commended those who instituted the annual Obosi-inland town football competition while recommending reforms for it.

“I like the annual Obosi-inland town inter-village matches because it will keep the youths busy and make them not to think about committing crimes.

“And youths from poor homes whose parents cannot afford to pay their school fees can earn their livelihoods by playing football,” Chief Onwuekwe said.

Chief Sylvester Emeka Onwuekwe (Ogidi Obosi), whose goalkeeping prowess and exploits earned renown for him, called on the Obosi Development Union (ODU) and the Obosi traditional ruling cabinet to institute the Obosi-wide football league as it would benefit budding footballers in Obosi.

He recounted how his goalkeeping exploits while manning the goal posts for Rangers International FC of Enugu and Vasco Da Gama of Enugu paved way for his earning of scholarship for a degree programme in civil engineering at Alabama A&M university in America.

•Okoye is an Anambra State Ministry of Information Officer.