Prosperity Cup: Stakeholders laud Gov Diri on increase of prize money

Ahead of season seven of Nigeria’s biggest grassroots football spectacle, the Bayelsa Governor’s Football Tournament christened ‘Prosperity Cup’, sports stakeholders have lauded Governor Douye Diri for increasing the prizes for men and women categories to N50 million.

The stakeholders in separate interviews said the nation should expect the best of grassroots football from the various participating teams in the tournament.

Zonal vice president of the Youths Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON), Mr Kali Gwegwe said the prize money for the tournament has given the competition more credibility and attention, stating that the increase in the prize money would make the event more competitive and attractive.

The former Bayelsa United chairman commended the organizers and the Bayelsa State government for the increase, pointing out that the gesture by the government has shown that the governor is a lover of sports.

Also, former technical adviser of Bayelsa United, Diepreye Teibowei, noted that, apart from talent discovery, the soccer showpiece has in the last few years, continued to unite communities in the state, saying that this year’s prosperity cup would witness the best of grassroots football across the state.

The former international and Julius Berger star hailed Governor Diri and the Director General of the tournament, Mr Ono Akpe for the consistency, especially the scouting programme, which has exposed a lot of young talents.

Veteran sports journalist and former Chairman Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Mr Loveday Herbert, described the improved prize money as a huge step to further attract greater participation, maintaining that the most interesting development is the entrant of NUJ/SWAN team which would further increase the publicity of the tournament.

According to him, season seven of the spectacle would provide an opportunity for grassroots coaches in the state to up their game in terms of talent discovery, stressing that the future of the two state-owned teams depends largely on the progress of the Prosperity Cup.

Another sports journalist, Tommie Amaegbe, opined that the various grassroots teams are excited to receive the news of the increased prize money and that the development is worth celebrating, noting that the gesture would produce more female teams in the state.

He asserted that the increase in the prize money would serve as an additional motivation for participating teams to work hard to triumph in the tournament, describing it as remarkable as the local government finals would bring football closer to the people at the grassroots level.

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