Lagos, Nigeria – June, 2017
The 6th season of the GTBank Masters Cup reached its climax on Thursday 29th June at the famous waterfront Onikan stadium in Lagos.
The prestigious secondary schools football tournament ended on an historic note, as old rivalries were renewed in the two matches that featured the four most outstanding teams in this year’s competition.
Commenting on the finals of the 2017 GTBank Masters Cup, Segun Agbaje, the MD/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, said “We are proud to lead this initiative that provides an avenue for students to showcase their talents and passion for the game of football even as they remain committed to their academics.” He further stated that “This competition paves the way for youths to cultivate their sporting talents and aptitudes, while fostering and building a healthier lifestyle at a critical stage in their lives”.
In the first match which repeated the 2014 finals, Queens College, Yaba won an exciting 2-0 victory over Ansar-Ud-Deen Girls High School, Itire scoring one of each half. This victory has retained Queens College Girls as the defending champions for four years back to back in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Chioma Mblonwu who scored the two goals for the Yaba girls in the 24th and 47th minutes to seal the victory over the Itire girls, said that despite the pressure mounted by Ansar-Ud-Deen Girls High School, Queens College were determined to defend their GTBank Masters Cup title. Mblonwu said: “I feel very excited and happy. The team is very happy,”
“The truth of the matter is that we felt a little pressure [from Ansar-Ud-Deen Girls High School] but everyone had at the back of their minds that we must make it. If the ones before us did it, we can. “They did very well, they performed very well,” she said.
She further stated that she believes that even without her, the Yaba girls are set to take the stage again come next season, “Next year our next team must match our feat and with the kind of team I’m leaving behind, they’ll definitely play better,” she added.
In the male category, two-time winners of the competition, Anwar-Ul-Islam College, Agege were denied a third trophy by arch-rivals St. Finbarr’s College, Akoka. The boys from Akoka won by a single goal margin of 2-1 in keenly contested final.
Anwar-Ul-Islam College forward Promise Ernest who believe that his team played well but were unlucky in finding the back of the net. Promise who was awarded the MVP felt he could have played a better game, in expressing his thought on the march he said, “My personal performance was very poor and I am disappointed with myself. Things didn’t just work out in our favour because we performed well today.”
Established in 2012, the GTBank Masters Cup is an annual football competition for first generation and private secondary schools in Lagos State geared towards the development of grassroots football, the discovery of young soccer talents, and fostering camaraderie amongst competing schools.
Source: www.businessdayonline.com