By ‘Demola Atobaba
Ado-Ekiti
The various supports shown by some philanthropists towards the registration of teams for the Ekiti Obas Cup football competition have been appreciated by the organizers of the initiative.
One of those who got the thumbs up was an Okemesi Ekiti-born female sports enthusiast and philantropist, Chief (Mrs) Abimbola Olaoye Nee Akinyoola, who personally and wholly paid for the registration of Owa-Ooye Okemesi Football Club on Tuesday.
According to the Head Coach of the team, Mr Joshua Fayese popularly known as Coach Joe from Okemesi, the woman being the proprietress of Olabim Female Football Academy in Ilorin, Kwara State has been a long time sports philanthropist.
Fayese described Chief Olaoye who hail from Oke-Asagba street in Okemesi-Ekiti as a true lover of the young generation and talent developer whose kind gesture has been lifting people through various programs. He noted the move had challenged men in the community having surprised the youth of Okemesi-Ekiti by helping them obtain the form with a promise to also support the team through some other logistics.
Owa-Ooye of Okemesi FC named after HRM Oba Micheal Gbadebo Adedeji, JP, CON, became one of the teams that had officially registered for the Ekiti Obas Cup Under-18 soccer Championship as they joined Onigbemo FC and Alara of Aramoko FC among others.
Meanwhile, the Alara of Aramoko, HRM Oba (Dr) Olu Adeyemi has offered royal blessings to the players and coaching crew of Alara FC led by coach Bestman who visited him in his palace with a call on them to be good ambassadors of Aramoko-Ekiti.
Other monarchs in the state whose town’s football club are registered also described the Ekiti Obas Cup as an ideal way to entrench unity in the state ahead of the fast approaching gubernatorial election have given their blessings to the Ekiti Obas Cup.
Due to the Muslim Ramadan fast, the kickoff of the Obas Cup has been shifted till Saturday May 7 while registration for the competition has been extended till Wednesday April 27 and screening will hold on Saturday April 30.