By Lucy Ackanyon
In celebration of the sixth anniversary of Eunice Spring of Life Foundation (ESLF), the foundation of Wife of Benue State Governor, Dr Eunice Ortom, will hold a football tournament on April 12, 2022.
The invitational football tournament which is expected to involve all the 23 Local Government Areas of Benue State is for youths between 20 to 23 years.
Speaking, while inaugurating the planning committee for the invitational tournament, recently in Makurdi, The ESLF Founder, Dr Ortom expressed hope that the event will encourage youths to adopt healthier lifestyles and steer clear of social vices and as well, open up opportunities in football career for Benue youths.
She also said the competition would expose the rich potentials that abound in the state and open up diverse partnership opportunities hoped to yield greater prosperity for participants, as well as the entire Benue society.
Dr Ortom, who was represented by an ESLF Board Member, Mrs Saratu Orga, explained that there would be competitions across Zones A, B and C of the state from where two teams would emerge from each zone.
The governor’s wife, who said ESLF would be working with seasoned football managers and administrators for technical guidance, stressed that the tournament would help identify, train and provide the platform for adolescents and young people in communities across the state to hone their God-given potentials and find opportunities for further training and engagement as professional footballers.
She noted that the 6 winning teams from the 3 zones would further compete in Makurdi, the state capital where the overall winner of the tournament, as well as the 1st and 2nd runners-up would emerge and prizes awarded accordingly.
According to the Dr Ortom, “ESLF had implemented a similar sports programme in 2016 for school children during the third term holidays where no fewer than 200 school children participated.”