Organisers of the African Ballers competition, a grassroots skills challenge, which debuted last week at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos, have promised overseas trials opportunities for winners of future editions of the competition.
The maiden edition, a one versus one event that tested players’ skills in tight situations, featured 40 players drawn from across Lagos and its environs.
The maiden African Ballers’ champion, Oladimeji Oluwafemi Stephen, got the sum of N500,000 for his efforts, while the other contestants got various gift items.
Speaking at the end of the competition, sponsor/organiser of the event, Gaurav Vaswani, said the turnout and success of the competition has shown that Nigeria is blessed with talented youngsters, who need avenues to exhibit their skills.He promised to make the competition a quarterly event, adding that subsequent editions will be bigger and offer more to the players.He said: “The fact that I can give back to my community and the talent available is awesome. I thank all those that have helped us to accomplish this.
“I knew when we thought of it that it would be a smashing success. I feel happy seeing these aspiring footballers display their skills. African Ballers is my concept, a one-man show. I want to thank all my staff for their efforts and all my sponsors for keying into this event.”
Vaswani said his organisation would take the champion around media houses to promote him, adding, “we are looking at taking some of the talents for overseas trials and also bringing scouts to watch them play here and possibly take some of them to clubs abroad.”
Also speaking at the end of the competition, Guarav’s father, Keshab, said he feels happy that the hardwork his son put into organising the contest has yielded positive results, especially the turnout and reception the event got.
On the players’ clamour for a more frequent competition, he said, “all things have to be in moderation. It is expensive to put this event together, but we will start with quarterly and take it from there. We are also looking at doing a separate thing for girls as well, but with the same concept.”
Earlier, an elated champion, Stephen, told The Guardian that winning the African Ballers challenge has given his family a relief they never hoped for. The champion, who disclosed that he did not tell his family members that he was going for the competition, said he would invest the N500, 000 in making life easier for them.
“We live in Iyana Ipaja and I am just envisaging what would happen when I get home. I will spend about 50 per cent of the money on my family and 50 per cent on myself.”
Stephen said that the African Ballers competition is his first of such contests, adding that he is looking forward to subsequent editions because “it is a wonderful experience.” He called on other lovers of football to emulate African Ballers by organising similar grassroots events for aspiring footballers.
Also speaking on the competition, Bakare Olamide, who lost in the final to Stephen, commended the organisers for bringing the event to Nigeria, saying that he has learnt a lot from the skills displayed by the other contestants.
He said: “I hoped to win the money, but I was tired going into the final. This programme has shown me that if I continue to work hard, one day it will be my turn to win.
“I congratulate Stephen on his victory because it is not easy playing from the preliminary round to the final in a competition with many talented players. I will come back stronger in the next edition,”
