By Paul Akhagbemhe
True to prediction, fans of youth football got more than what they bargained for today, as participating teams in this year’s Ramat Cup tournament gave a very good account of themselves on Day 3.
Thirty-nine goals were scored by the various teams at the Mahaha Sports Complex in Kano, as they become desperate to make the quarter-finals stage.
Gombe U-16 team that won their first match 2-0 against Adamawa on Monday, were ruthless against Kaduna, scoring five unreplied goals. They now have 6 points from 2 matches.
Sokoto that lost 3-1 to Kaduna on Sunday fought back strongly to defeat Adamawa 4-0. With 3 points in their kitty, the Tambuwal Babes say they are ready against Gombe, in their Wednesday’s encounter.
Defending champions Kwara got a scare of their lives also today when they were held to a 1-1 draw by FCT, but later made up with a formidable display against Bauchi that they defeated 3-0 in their next match.Kwara now have 7 points and will now play Yobe for the quarter-finals ticket, since they won their opening game 3-0 against Rivers state.
The shocking result of the day was the defeat of the host team Kano. They lost 1-0 to their kebbi counterparts but later defeated Zamfara 2-0 to ease qualification tension. They however need to complete their efforts with a win against Nasarawa on Wednesday to move into quarter-finals.
Jigawa and Abia have a herculean task ahead of them. They must beat Ogun and Sokoto respectively to be guaranteed a chance in the quarter-finals
In Wednesday’s matches, Katsina will play Plateau, while Kaduna take on Adamawa. It will be Bauchi versus Yobe and Ekiti against FCT amongst others. The excitement is really infectious and everybody is getting consumed.
The YSFON organized football tournament is truly yielding the desired dividend but stakeholders warn that except Nigerian football authorities maximize the gains of grassroots development, the nation will continue to lag behind in world football.