Lagos state Football Association’s quest to develop female football in the state has given birth to a new championship, the Ekofootball Queens Championships with 24 teams set to battle for the giant trophy presented by one of the board members, Prince Ifalade Oyekan.
Speaking at the LSFA office on Thursday, the Chairman of the association, who doubles as the 1st Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Seyi Akinwunmi, said the association is doing its best to improve on the height female football already attained in the state.
Akinwunmi said he was happy with the decision of the women committee of the board, led by their chairman, Yemisi Cole, to come up with the competition.
He added that LSFA has taken football to another height in the state with several innovations including returning the Super Eagles to Lagos while also hosting several national teams in the state.
Also speaking at the press conference, the Vice Chairman of LSFA, Tade Azeez, stated that the revolution experienced at the Nigeria Women Football League Super 6 at the Dipo Dina International Stadium Ijebu-Ode encouraged the Lagos FA to do more for women’s football development in Nigeria, while also stressing that, majority of the players that showcased their talents at the Super 6 were players who had their early development in the game in Lagos.
The chairman of the women committee, Cole, revealed that 24 teams would be taking part in the competition that will feature only amateur players with games expected to take place at the Agege Stadium and the Legacy Pitch, National Stadium, Lagos.
According to her, the competition will run for two weeks, starting from Wednesday, June 2, while adding that the tournament is not about the winner or the loser, but about developing women’s football in the state.
She added that the teams will be in four groups of six teams each for the competition that would first be played on league basis before going into the knock-out series until the final game.
Victory Queens, Unification FC, Heroes FC, Lakeside Queens, SGH Queens, FC Phoenix, BFA English and Oracle Angels are among the teams that would be fighting for honour at the tournament.
