By Paul Akhagbemhe
The 38th edition of the Ramat Cup U-16 Football Tournament came to a fantastic close on Friday with the crowd-pulling Kwara team retaining its title.
In an enthralling encounter at the Kano Pillars Stadium and before the very eyes of dignitaries from across the country, the Kwara team proved their critics wrong with a 2-1 win over their Oyo State counterparts.
Although the Makinde boys also gave a very good account of themselves, they fought back vigorously but their efforts only yielded little impact.
The Oyo team allowed Kwara to take two goals lead, but last-minute technical input gave the team a breather but couldn’t stop the Champions from making hay
With the inspiring win, the Kwara boys have successfully made history as the first team to win the Ramat Cup title back to back
The third-place match between Ogun state and Bauchi wasn’t different, both teams fought really hard and the capacity crowd truly appreciated them but no goal to tell the story. Although the crowd was yearning for more the game ended in a goalless draw Mother luck eventually smiled in favor of Bauchi who score all their penalties while Ogun state lost three.
The athletics events that followed Kano, Ekiti, Kebbi, and Bauchi teams were outstanding. They demonstrated rare traits of future Champions, winning the 100 meters 200, and 4×100 meters relay
It was really a befitting final
The Deputy Governor of Kano State and President of YSFON Dr. Nasiru Gawuna led the Government team and dignitaries including Representatives of the Ministry of Sports, chief of Army and Naval Staff, all got a full dose of excitement and obviously were yearning for more
The representatives of the participating teams and the players were full of appreciation for the Kano State Government for its gesture and appealed that more efforts be put in place to help give meaningful support to Nigerian Youths to enable them to win the war against poverty so that they can be relevant to the society at large
