By ESTHER EGBE
FC Robo Ladies, FC Phoenix Queens, Royaltoms, COD Ladies, Kadesh Ladies, Tokas Queens and others are among the 24 teams who featured in the maiden Asisat Oshoala U17 Football Tournament recently.
Just a year after making a breakthrough in European women football, Liverpool Ladies striker Oshoala launched her maiden edition of her grassroots youth football tournament in Lagos recently. Asisat the sponsor of the Oshoala U-17 Football Tournament which took place during the weekend told National Daily that the game was to encourage the upcoming players to give the hope that they can become whatever they want to be in football, if they work hard. The 21-year-old who shone brightly since winning the 2014 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup best player and golden boot award respectively in Canada said that the tournament is a form of giving back to her community. Her success in 2014 inspired her switch to England signing for Liverpool Ladies from Rivers Angels, and becoming the first home grown female player to make such breakthrough.
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She is yet to decide to start up her own football club here in Lagos, Nigeria. The former Rivers Angels Striker who was named the 2014 African Women player of the Year and also edged the legendary Martha of Brazil and other top stars to the maiden 2015 BBC Women’s Football of the Year award explained that there is a price tag for the winners of the competition, but I am still hoping to give more, waiting on one or two things. The Super Falcons striker will speak alongside a raft of footballing legends at the FIFA Women’s Football and Leadership Conference, Switzerland on March 7, 2016. Oshoala said that she chose Mushin as the location for the tornament, because that was where she started her grassroots football.
“The reason I sponsored this game, because we need to develop the game of football for grassroots. This competition is basically for young ladies. We need to get the kids off the streets, get the ladies out of the streets and get them off prostitution”.