The third edition of the Divtec Sports International Football tournament has been fixed for January 25 to March 27 2025.
This was revealed in a press conference on Saturday by organiser of the tournament.
Present at the press conference are Oladapo Olalekan, Director Divtec Sports International, Charles Adetokunbo, Chairman Alim City whose team will participate in the tournament, Coach Adeniyi Adewunmi and Chukwuemeka Ofor, representative of officiating and security and other stakeholders.
This year’s tournament, which will be in Cup format and hold at Oki Primary school in Alimosho, Lagos State, will feature 16 teams.
Registration for the tournament is N30,000 and the winner will get N150,000 while the runners-up will go home with N80,000.
Speaking at the press conference, Director Divtec Sports International, Olalekan shade more light on the tournament.
“The main reason we are here today is because of sports, but what do I mean by that? I realize this nation, Nigeria, is a great nation, but many of our youth are being destabilized. Being a sportsman, I decided to create this platform to give them something to follow, something they love doing, something they believe in. That is the main purpose of Tech Sports International.
“This program started three years ago when we only held football competitions. It lasted about five months then. Last year, we expanded to include preliminary stages, quarterfinals, and finals. We also introduced snooker competitions on June 12th, Democracy Day, in Lagos.
“This year, we’re taking another step forward. We’ll hold football competitions, snooker competitions, and table tennis competitions. Year after year, we plan to add more sports.
“While discussing with the management board, they suggested bringing in under-15s, considering the academic calendar with long holidays in July before resuming in September. However, what we’re starting in two weeks’ time is the spring-age competition. Teams can have two personnel in their tenth year, including one goalkeeper.
“Regarding age limits in other sporting activities – last year we had no age restrictions for snooker or table tennis. The age limit only applies to football because we’re operating at an international level. For snooker and table tennis, we welcome all ages, but football competitions maintain age restrictions.”
He talked about the date and schedule if games for the tournament.
“The tournament will start on January 25th, which is a Saturday. Due to venue scheduling, matches will be held on Saturdays and Sundays. On Saturdays, we’ll have three matches, and on Sundays, two matches. This weekend format was chosen due to current weather conditions. The tournament will run until March 22nd, with the finals taking place then.”
He added:”Regarding previous editions and their challenges, Olalekan said they made significant improvements. From modest prize money of 100,000 for first place and 60,000 for second place in earlier tournaments, we secured reliable sponsors who helped increase the prizes to 500,000 for first and 300,000 for second place.
“This year, we’re proposing 150,000 with additional rewards for first place, and 80,000 with rewards for second place.”
