The Southern Zonal playoffs of the Samuel Okwaraji Foundation National Secondary Schools Football Competition, known as the Memoir Cup, will be held from November 3 to November 7 across three centres.

According to Osita Izunazo, chairman of the competition’s organising committee, the centres are Maracana Stadium, Ajegunle, Lagos; Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri; and U.J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar.

Mr Izunaso said the playoffs would feature teams from the South-West, South-East and South-South geopolitical zones.

“The competition is sponsored by First Bank and organised in honour of late Nigerian footballer Samuel Okwaraji. The three southern zonal champions will join their northern counterparts for the national finals in Lagos later in November.

“The northern zonal playoffs have been concluded, with three champions emerging to qualify for the national finals,” he said.

Olabisi Joseph, president of the Nigeria School Sport Federation, said the federation was committed to maintaining the high standards and transparent processes established during the competition, as the competition’s technical partner.

Mr Joseph said the systems put in place were thorough, efficient and transparent, adding that they would not be compromised.

“We are ready for the zonal playoffs in the south, and they will be organised with the same standards used for the Northern region. I can assure you that these standards will also be maintained for the national finals later this month,” she said.

The zonal playoffs represent the second stage of the competition, following the conclusion of state finals across the country earlier in the year. The competition seeks to discover and nurture football talents among secondary school students nationwide.

It is organised in memory of Mr Okwaraji, who slumped and died on August 12, 1989, while representing Nigeria’s senior men’s national team, the Super Eagles. He died during a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Angola at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

(NAN)