Sixteen teams in Abuja will join the 5th edition of the 5Stars Premier League 2023 which is expected to run from June to October this year.
According to the event organizers, the Abuja teams will join their colleagues from the other three centres which include Lagos, Ibadan, and Warri to fight for a prize money of N6 million. The League which will span over 18 weekends of best of football artistry involves 64 teams with 16 from each centre.
Managing Director, 5Star Football, Olumide Aturu, in an interview with Tribune Sports said the competition is targeted at total turnaround in grassroots football development with the aim to bring more investment and financial opportunities to investors and the teams.
“From 12 teams we now have 64 teams spanned across different regions in Nigeria from Abuja, Warri, Ibadan, and Lagos. I’m so happy and excited that grassroots football which we thought it’s not going to go beyond this level is going and making inroads. We have passion for what we are doing and this you cannot underestimate. The teams are also aware of the opportunities in football right now because we discussed investment in football and everybody is now aware of the financial opportunities now attached to grassroots football.
“That is why you see teams coming from different parts of Nigeria. As I said earlier, from 12 teams we have moved to 64 teams. I’m so confident that this season we are going to see a total turnaround in the grassroots.
“For a league that started with N300,000 now to N6 million this season, it is evident that it will only get better. We run into millions of investments and opportunities that will bring more financial opportunities to the league,” he said.
The head of media, Ayo Adams said the competition is aimed at reaching more talents and players’ development
at the grassroots.
One of the resource persons at the event, a former Nigerian international and the Special Adviser to Delta State Governor on Sports, Sam Sodje, said it is good for athletes to combine education and sports. He said while sports has its life span, an athlete can easily fall back to his profession after his sports career is over.
“It is hard to combine sports with education but education is key to back your talents. It is good to advise young athletes to take to education, they need our help.
We need people who understand sports and the game to guide and mentor young athletes for life after sports. We are doing so well in Delta to sponsor kids to make them get to the best level in sports, “Sodje who spoke on the topic, “Diversification Into Sports Education, Governance and Creating Strategic Partnerships Through The Grassroots” said.