BY IFEANYI UWAGWU
PARTICIPANTS of the recently concluded inaugural edition of the Defiant Ladies U-17 football Tournament have showered praises on the competition’s organiser, Mrs Henrietta Ehiabor, for reviving female football at the grassroots level.
The Wife of the Delta State Deputy Governor, Lady Catherine Onyeme, thanked Mrs Ehiabor for the tournament, for believing in the potential of the girl child, and for investing in the future of women’s football in Nigeria.
“I want to thank the Organizer of this tournament for believing in the potential of the girl child and investing in the future of women’s football in the country. Your dedication has laid the foundation for what I hope will become a tradition that grows each year, empowering more young girls”, she said.
Speaking to newsmen after the final match of the competition, Coach Eigbe Odianosen of Fortress Ladies hailed Mrs Ehiabor for organizing the tournament as a means of taking young girls off the streets and preventing them from going into crime and other related vices.
Odianonsen mentioned that the competition would give hope to aspiring female footballers that there is still hope for them to pursue their passion and keep them from being discouraged on the path to actualizing their dreams, stating that competitions like this would inspire the girl child.
The coach also used the opportunity to beckon sponsors to throw their weight behind the tournament, while calling on other like-minded individuals like Mrs Ehiabor to organize similar tournaments.
Similarly, the Coach of Delta Babes Dickson Danlami echoed the same sentiments, stating that the tournament would prove to be an assembly line for the national teams in the future.
The 6-team tournament which took place at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, comprised eventual winners Fortress Ladies of Benin-City; Brave Heart Fc of Benin-City; Thunder Bay of Kwale; Mighty Wanderers of Abraka; Delta Babes of Warri and Bayelsa Princesses of Yenagoa.
