By John- Ogbe Yerinmene Like the Biblical axiom “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh”, the GODSPENAL Football Tournament 2019 maidenly evolved into reality from the abundance of its presence in the heart of the chief host- Apst. Dr. Godspower Tonmone. First and foremost, as a veritable instrument to promote peace and industriousness among young people by annexing and promoting raw talents in the area of football across the Ogulagha, Kou, and Iduwini kingdoms stretching along the River Ramos, River Forcados and the shores of the Atlantic in Burutu Local Government Area Of Delta state; the tournament was born out of a long time desire of the chief host to have a football academy that can meet up international standards-THE GODSPENAL FOOTBALL ACADEMY, where football talents could be groomed to international standards. Therefore, the epoch making tournament which has been described as the first of its kind in the football history of the area, was designed to bear a mark of excellence. Indeed, the tournament up to this point has in no doubt been phenomenal. A total of 18 football teams spreading across the Ogulagha, Kou and Iduwini kingdoms were registered and grouped into four A, B, C, And D as shown below: GLORIOUS FC OF BURUTU , ELUWE FC OF ODIMODI, YOUBEBE FC OF YOUBEBE SOKEBOLOU FC OF SOKEBOLOU BURUTU UNITED OF BURUTU AGIP FC TOP TEN FC OF OGULAGHA STONEBREAKERS OF OGULAGHA SHARPSHOOTERS OF OGULAGHA YOUBEBE UNITED OF YOUBEBE YOKIRI FC OF YOKIRI OBOTOBO 1 FC OF OBOTOBO 1 OBOTOBO2 FC AWALA FC OF OSAIN BARCA BOYS OF ODIMODI FORCADOS FC OF FORCADOS. ISLAND FC OF OGULAGHA TALENTED FC OF OGULAGHA The 10th of October, 2019 marked the opening ceremony of the prestigious tournament. The date was selected deliberately to simultaneously celebrate the birth anniversary of the chief host. The opening ceremony drew from far and near respectable dignitaries including HON. SHADRACK AGEDIGA, of DESOPADEC with a host of entourage, representatives of Delta State Football Association, and football coaches of different calibers, community leaders and youth leaders from within Ogulagha clan and outside the Ogulagha clan to mention but a few. GROUP STAGE The opening match was between the SHARPSHOOTERS FC of Ogulagha and BURUTU UNITED of Burutu all in Group A. The match was a tough one which ended in a 2-1 victory for BURUTU UNITED. Below is a summary of the group stage matches with dates and scores: GROUP A 1 BURUTU UNITED 1- 0 SHARPSHOOTERS 3:00PM OGULAGHA PITCH 10TH 2 GLORIOUS FC 0 -0 ISLAND FC 2:00PM OGULAGHA PITCH 11TH 3 SHARPSHOOTERS 3-0 GLORIOUS FC 4:00PM YOUBEBE 13TH 4 OBOTOBOII 1- 2 BURUTU UNITED 4:00PM YOUBEBE 14 5 BURUTU UNITED 1- 1 GLORIOUS FC 2:00PM 15TH 6 ISLAND FC 2-0 OBOTOBO II 4:00PM 16TH 7 SHARPSHOOTERS 0-3 ISLAND FC 2:00PM 18TH 8 GLORIOUS FC 0-3 OBOTOBO II {WALKOVER} 4:00PM 18TH 9 ISLAND FC 1 -0 BURUTU UNITED 2:00PM 20TH 10 OBOTOBO II 0- 3 SHARPSHOOTERS 4:00PM 20TH GROUP B 1 ELUE FC 1 -0 AWALA FC 2:00PM OGULAGHA PITCH 12TH 2 AGIP 0 -3 YOUBEBE UNITED 4:00PM OGULAGHA PITCH 12TH 3 TALENTED 0- 1 ELUE FC 2:00PM YOUBEBE 14TH 4 AWALA FC 1 – 0 AGIP FC 4:00PM YOUBEBE 15TH 5 YOUBEBE UNITED 3- 3 ELUE FC 2:00PM 17TH 6 AWALA FC 0 -2 TALENTED 4:00PM 17TH 7 ELUE FC 1 -0 AGIP FC 2:00PM 19TH 8 YOUBEBE UNITED 2- 0 AWALA FC 4:00PM 19TH 9 TALENTED 1-0 YOUBEBE UNITED 4:00PM 20TH 10 AGIP FC 0-2 TALENTED (WALKOVER) 4:00PM 21ST GROUP C 1 YOKIRI 1-0 TOP TEN 2:00PM 11TH 2 YOUBEBE FC 1-0 BARCA BOYS 4:00PM 11TH 3 TOP TEN FC 3 -1 YOUBEBE FC 2:00PM YOUBEBE 13TH 4 BARCA BOYS 0-1 YOKIRI 4:00PM YOUBEBE 13TH 5 TOP TEN FC 2-0 BARCA BOYS 4:00PM 16TH 6 YOKIRI FC 0-0 YOUBEBE 2:00PM 16TH GROUP D 1 FORCADOS FC 1 -2 STONEBREAKERS 2:00PM 12th 2 SOKOBOLO FC 1-0 OBOTOBO 1 4:00PM 12th 3 STONEBREAKERS 0-1 SOKOBOLO 4:00PM YOUBEBE 14th 4 OBOTOBOI 0-2 FORCADOS FC 2:00PM YOUBEBE 14th 5 SOKOBOLO FC 1-0 FORCADOS FC 4:00PM 17th 6 OBOTOBOI 0-1 STONEBREAKERS 2:00PM 17th The group stage battle ended on the 22nd of October with the following teams qualifying into the quarter finals; ISLAND FC topped the Group A by obtaining 10 points, 3 wins and a draw , followed by BURUTU UNITED emerging as the runner up of the group with 7 points, 2 wins , 1 loss and a draw. ELUE FC came out top in Group B with 10 points, 3 wins and a draw against YOUBEBE UNITED. TALENTED FC emerged as the runner up of group b with 9 points, 3 wins and a loss. YOKIRI FC came out of the group stage topping the GROUP C with 7 points, 2 wins and a draw, followed by TOP TEN FC obtaining 6 points from winning two out of their three group stage matches to emerge the runner up of Group C. SOKOBOLO FC triumphantly won all their three group stage matches to emerge the toppers of GROUP D with 9 points, followed by Stonebreakers who took the runner up spot of GROUP D having obtained 6 points from winning two of their group stage matches but suffered a 1 Nil defeat against SOKOBOLO FC. QUARTER FINALS 24th October marked the beginning of the quarter final matches with ISLAND FC defeating STONEBREAKERS 4-3 in penalty shootout to qualify for the semifinals having been held to a goalless draw. ELUE FC defeated TOP TEN FC 2-1 to qualify for the semifinals on the 25th of October at the Youbebe pitch. YOKIRI FC got a ticket to the semifinal on the 26th of October after defeating burutu united 4-1 in penalty shootout after a full time goalless draw, courtesy the yokiri keeper who made two wonderful saves. SOKOBOLO FC relentlessly defeated TALENTED FC by a lone goal on the 27th of October to qualify for the semifinals. SEMIFINALS The two semifinal matches were both played on the 29th of October at the Youbebe pitch. SOKOBOLO FC defeated ISLAND FC of Ogulagha 5-4 in a penalty shootout having played a goalless draw. YOKIRI FC probably motivated by SOKOBOLO FC escaped to the finals alongside sokobolo by a lone goal victory against Elue fc of Odimodi. FINALS The final between sokobolo fc and yokiri promises to be thrilling and intriguing. Slated for 2nd November 2019, the final of the Godspenal Football Tournament , 2019 shall be coated with lots of ceremonies and shall draw lots of dignitaries into Youbebe community which is the venue for the match.

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