The Guaranty Trust Masters Cup is an offset of the GTBank-Lagos State Principals Cup. The tournament was first conceived when Guaranty Trust realized that grass-root football development was incomplete without the participation of all schools in Lagos state (Private and Public) especially those that dominated the Principal's Cup over 3 decades ago, since its inception in 1954.
Over the past decade, there has been a steady but constant decline in the participation of privately run schools in the Lagos State Principals Cup. This trend may be traced back to the period when the Principal's Cup hit a rocky patch and the competition was no longer held regularly on an annual basis.
While the Ministry of Education has actively invited non-state-run schools to come back and embrace the revamped GTBank-Lagos State Principals Cup, many of the schools have still not heeded this call, resulting in limited participation. Guaranty Trust however realizes that the fabric of grass root football development is incomplete without the participation of all schools in Lagos State, Federal and Private.
To ensure full participation of all schools, Guaranty Trust decided to create The Master's Cup in partnership with Lagos State First Generation Heritage College Association (LAFGHECA). This football tournament involves the Heritage Schools as well as other Private Schools.
The Heritage schools are those that dominated the Principal's Cup for over 3 decades since its inception in 1954. These are the schools that evoke fond memories of when the Principal's Cup was the pre-eminent local tournament in the country. Matches amongst these schools were bound to be major, much-talked-about events not only in Lagos but all over the country. Legends were made and history was created anytime these schools faced off. These schools formed the history of the Principal's Cup.
The spirit of the Master's Cup remains the same as that of the Principal's Cup – to identify local football talents in Nigerian Colleges whilst creating a platform for participating schools to compete in a peaceful atmosphere, learn the principle of “fair play” and eschew violence in football.
The Heritage Cup competition, now tagged ‘Masters Cup’ was officially announced on 21st February 2012. The competition kicked off with 21 participating schools.
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