My football tournament seeks to touch the lives of Nigerian women – Obaseki

Betsy Obaseki

Published By: Paul Dada

By Jethro Ibileke

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Betsy Obaseki Women Football Tournament (BOWFT), Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, has said that the tournament has gone beyond playing football.

Mrs Obaseki who stated this on Monday while briefing journalists on the 4th edition, said the tournament seeks to touch the lives of women in Edo State and Nigeria at large.

She said the idea of the tournament was to empower women in Nigeria and support them to make a career out of football.

According to the Edo First Lady, the tournament will certainly continue after the end of the Obaseki’s led administration because it is private sector funded and sponsored with a board in place alongside a marker.

She said: “Four years ago we started with 12 teams and in the fourth edition we have 14 teams with two international teams. The price money has also increased and doubled with the years from N5 million in the first outing to N10 million in this edition.

“After our first outing, FIFA recognised our efforts in promoting female football and empowering women and gave us an award.”

Mrs Obaseki noted that sports was dead in Edo State before the Obaseki’s led administration 8 years ago despite being the number State in sports in Nigeria during the time of Samuel Ogbemudia.

“Gov Godwin Obaseki revived sports and ensured it brought back Bendel Insurance and Edo Queens to winning ways as the Benin Clubs are now national and West African champions. Since this tournament, Edo Queens are getting better as they became the champion last year and continue in that line winning the WAFU Cup to represent West Africa.

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“This tournament has produced players that played for our female national team and also for foreign Clubs as our efforts is yielding desirable results. The tournament is helping to grow and develop female football in Nigeria also creating opportunities for our female children to make a career out of football”.

The First Lady maintained that the Obaseki-led administration has used the tournament to tackle human trafficking as it created a platform and pathway for the girls and ensure they have a successful career in female football.

She noted that each year has its own theme for the tournament which will also have a seminar along with the the competition. “In the first edition the theme was girl child education, second year was, say no to drugs. For the third year it was gender based violence while for this year it’s say no to teen pregnancy and abandonment”.

Member of Benin Republic FA and Presidential Adviser to the Benin Republic FA President, Didavi Queintin, thanked the organizers of the tournament as the tournament has grew over the years.

He noted that Edo Queens beat a Benin Republic team in the final of the WAFU Cup to become champions.

“We are happy to be here and we are here to learn from the champion and congratulate the team for their great performance over the years,” he said.

A total of 14 clubs are participating in 10-day sports fiesta, out of which nine are premiership clubs.