Naija Ratels Football Club President, Barrister Paul Edeh on saturday, awarded scholarship worth over N2.5m to the youngest player in his squad.
The Fourteen year old player, Atume Doosuur joined the ‘Benue’ based club at the end of last season and has since then improved beyond doubt.
While announcing the scholarship award in Makurdi, Benue State, the legal luminary who is known for his generous impact, said education is very key to the development of sports in the country.
He noted that the club’s philosophy is to scout for talents at the grassroots and educate them while pursuing their career in the game of football.
He went on to say Doosu was discovered by one of the scouts of the club in her village in Adikpo in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State during the club’s routine scouting tour. She exhibited great potentials which made the club invite her for trials and immediately discovered she has she will be the next big name in female football despite her young age.
The president of the Nigeria Women Football League side, Naija Ratels FC, further stated that, it is important for young aspiring footballers to get formal education at least to the tertiary level as education is a major tool that will enhance the skills of any female footballer.
He said; ” Education remains the best way to cope with life after football, this gesture is just to encourage the young girl to get more interested in furthering her education now that she still has age on her side.
He noted that her scholarship takes immediate effect. As soon as she is done with her Junior School Certificate exams, she will be enrolled into an all girls secondary school in Makurdi where she will complete her secondary education and proceed to the university with the cost to be fully borne by the club.
The philanthropist cum Football Administrator who recently built and donated a Substation to the Jo’s Electricity Distribution Company equipped with a 500KVA Transformer also presented a brand new two wheeled motor-Cycle to the coach of the team Sani Abdullah.
He described Coach Sani who can be likened to a camera man who is never seen in a picture but whose roll in keeping vital memories cannot be over emphasized. He stated that Sani has continued to silently discover young talents and nurture them to become greater players in the NWFL.
“This bike is presented to you in recognition of your resilience and commitment to the club and is intended to aid your movement and enhance your productivity as we prepare for the new season. Today, we celebrate your continuous commitment to the growth of female football.” He said.
Abdullah while thanking the President of the club for his gesture, said he was overwhelmed with happiness and never thought something like that could happen.
” Barrister Paul Edeh is a great philanthropist, someone who always wants people around him to be happy. He has done alot in the past and i am so pleased with this.
Barrister Paul Edeh who is the sole financier of the biggest Nigeria Women Football Pre-season Championship, the Naija Ratels Pre-season Championship, said they are willing to partner the NWFL to make this year’s tournament bigger and better.
” The Naija Ratels Pre-season Championship is the biggest women Pre-season Championship in Nigeria and we are poised to take this year’s edition to the next level.
” Preparations is ongoing and any moment from now we shall officially release details for this year’s edition.
” This is an opportunity for the clubs to gear up and get well prepared for the NWFL Premiership straight league.
” We look forward to a great tournament and hope teams in the NWFL will take advantage of this opportunity.” He concluded.
The first edition of the Naija Ratels Pre-season Football Championship was held at the Aper-Aku stadium, Makurdi last year and was won by NWFL Premiership side, Edo Queens after a keen contest with NWFL side Nasarawa Amazons at the finals.
