Winner of “Above 50” football championship to get N5m
Organisers of the maiden ‘ Above 50’ Football Championship have announced that winners of the competition, expected to hold July this year in Lagos, will win a total of N8 million.
Initiator of the tournament, who also doubles as President of Ikeja Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, Ambassador Dr. Edward Olutoke noted that the overall champions of the competition will go home with N5 million while the first and second runners-up will be N2 million and N1 million richer while there will also be other attractive prizes for participating teams.
According to him, the championship, which is a new concept, is aimed at making the elderly ones in the society have a platform to entertain people, burn out calories, network and discuss business ideas as well as keep fit.
“ We discovered that too many people are very busy and don’t have time for exercise and relaxation and that’s why the life span of an average African is between 40-45 years. This tournament is aimed at creating an avenue for the elderly people to relax, network, discuss business ideas and reduce stress”, he stressed.
“It’s also important to state that sports preaches peace because once a football match is going on, nobody talks about tribe, religion, ethnicity, colour or language; they only talk about who scores a goal and it’s that peace we want to sustain among the elderly who are decision makers and leaders of the society.
He further explained that each of the community clubs that will take part in the competition will have a medical practitioner and finance Director attached to the team who will advice them on how to eat healthy diet and what it takes to make money amongst others.
Olutoke announced that the finals of the tournament would be on July 30, which will be used to celebrate his birthday while the kick off date will soon be announced.
MTO/Sunonline
