Prince Dayo Faduyile Football competition final holds
– Steve Ovirih.
The government field Okitipupa was full to the brim as sport enthusiasts across Okitipupa Local Government Area and beyond gathered at the sport complex to watch the final match of the Prince Dayo Faduyile Football competition, which held on Saturday, the 25th January, 2020.
The last leg of the football fiesta held between KFC Okitipupa and Ore FC; in the keen football tackle between the two finalists in which accurate football potentials were displayed, the Young Turks of KFC Okitipupa having valiantly traded tackles and displayed raw talents beat their Ore based opponent to the trophy and emerged the winner of the year 2020 edition of the Prince Dayo Faduyile Football competition.
Dr. Francis Dayo Faduyile, the convener and financier of the sporting event in his good will address said he has always been an advocate of sport as a means of youth development in the society. He said he particularly developed interest in football from his hey days in the 70’s when he used to accompany his father, His Royal Majesty, Oba George Babatunde Faduyile, the Abodi of Ikale Land, then a coach to the Government Field. The Prince of Abodi, maintained that his ‘ take away’ from those days when he would watch his father coach young footballers was the smartness sporting activities can make a person derive who indulges in it. He said unlike now, when a whole lot of things are wrong with the sporting and social scope of Okitipupa, football was one of the best relaxing activities in the 70s when expatriates from Oluwa Glass and Okitipupa Oil mill PLC used to dazzle with their skills at the Government Field.
Dr. Faduyile said his motive for sponsoring the competition was to reenact the zeal of the old days when footballing competition was the youths second nature, stressing that if we are committed to encouraging our youths to develop their innate sporting potentials, they will sooner bring glory to the Ikale society when they become rising Stars in their footballing profession.
Faduyile however frowned at the poor state of the Okitipupa field , noting that the local management team of the government field has their job tailored for them to make sure there is a better way of bringing the field up to standard. He said one of the things we need to realise is that if our youths are not encouraged they veer off into committing crime, urging government to invest more on youth and sports development.
While appreciating Hon. Oriola who was the LOC chairman of the competition, Dr. Faduyile promised that the next edition of the sport fiesta shall be more colorful than this. He expressed his satisfaction with the Hon Oriola led Local Organising Committee for the hitch free sporting event and the record breaking feat achieved with the exercise, noting that without any iota of doubt some football talents in Ikale Land have been encouraged through the football competition to up their ante.
Faduyile gave his words that the football competition shall be a continuous exercise, stressing that it is his own way of encouraging the youths of his area.
The winner of the competition, KFC Okitipupa got a package of #100,000 for lifting the Prince Dayo Faduyile Football competition Trophy, while the runner up Ore FC got a total package of #75 000. Equally, the team that came third in the tourney, taye academy was awarded #50, 000.
Dr. Dayo Faduyile, President Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), and a prince of Ikale Land, who is also a stakeholder of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Ondo state, is running for the governorship of Ondo state in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
