16 teams for Leke James invitational tournament

The second edition of Leke James Invitational Tournament billed for Kaduna Township Stadium will feature 16 academies drawn from across the state, the organisers have said.
The football tournament, scheduled for December 6th – 15th, 2018, is expected to discover budding talents for the horde of scouts coming from Europe and Africa to find and link with top football clubs across the world.
Addressing sportswriters yesterday in Kaduna, chairman of the organising committee, Timothy Gandu said the tournament is not age based and not limited to amateurs, adding that despite holding first edition two years ago, the tourney will now hold annually.
He said sponsor of the tournament, Leke James, who is a Norway based striker with Molde FK, organised the tournament as a way of giving back to the public where he started from, hence the free registration.
“As a private initiative, the Leke James invitational tournament was designed to promote grassroots football in Nigeria.
The founder’s desire is to create opportunities for young stars to find fulfillment playing football.
Scouts from across Europe will be on ground to spot talents and give opportunity to local stars to fan their talents outside Nigeria.
“The two weeks tournament will feature 16 grassroots academies drawn from the nook and crannies of the state, these teams will play for the ultimate prize of $560 and other mouth watering prizes.
All matches will be played in Ranchers Bees Stadium.” Kaduna state Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Culture, Daniel Danauta commended the organisers for their efforts at creating job opportunities for the youth.
“We endorse the programme on behalf of Kaduna state governor, we expect other footballers, sportsmen and organisations to emulate Leke James,” Danauta, who was represented by David Yusuf, added.