BY SAB OSUJI

Awka, capital of Anambra State witnessed a cluster of who is who in football circles in the state and region on Friday 5 July, 2024 when draw for the second edition of the Babatem All Stars Football Competition was held inside the Secretariat of the Anambra State Football Associatio, Udoka Housing Estate, Awka, Exclusivenews.com.ng reports.

The competition was conceived in 2023 by the ANSFA Chairman and ex Super Eagles defender, Chikelue 'General' Iloenyosi.

Following the huge success of the inaugural edition, corporate organisations showed interest to hold the title sponsorship of a tournament exclusively reserved by retired but not tired footballers of fourth years and above.

No fewer than 21 All Stars Clubs from across the state were in the draw balls with Anambra State All Stars, Onitsha, as defending champions.

Title holders, Anambra State All Stars, were drawn in Group A which also has Villa All Stars, Awka, and Obosi All Stars. 

Peace FC, who finished fourth last year, were drawn in Group B alongside Puma All Stars Army Barracks and Ogbaru 1 Consistency.

Group C has Fegge All Stars, Ogbaru All Stars and Enugwu-Ukwu Old Boys while Group D will see Housing FC Onitsha, Great Stars FC Awka and Ekwulobia All Stars do battle for a place in the knock out stage.

Liberty FC Atani were drawn in Group E against Uncle Ralph FC Mgbakwu and Great Inland United FC Onitsha. 

In Group F are Nkpor Veterans, Awka Capital Elite and Old Skuuls FC Awka just as Group G has Evergreen FC Awka, Metu Memorial FC Onitsha and Unity FC Awka.

A visibly delighted Patrick Okwuelingo, CEO, PatrickLingo Pharmaceuticals Limited, who are title sponsors of the All Stars Tournament with its product brand, Babatem, said that the essence of sponsoring the competition is to promote the growth of football in the state and ensure that the 'beautiful game' continues to wax strong in the state.
 
Represented by Obinna Ndema, an astute journalist, the sponsor, Okwuelingo revealed that the winner of this year's competition will smile home with the sum of N1m while the teams that finish in second and third places will go home with the sum of N500, 000 and N300, 000 respectively.

He also hinted that the 'win-win' competition will have individual prizes such as the Most Valuable Player MVP, Highest Goal Scorer, Best Goalkeeper and Best Behaved Team.

He also revealed that the eight teams that reach the  quarter final stage will each receive a set of Jersey which they will use in the remaining part of the competition.

he thanked the Anambra State Football Association, ANSFA, under the leadership of Chikelue Iloenyosi for his doggedness and vision in taking football to the next level in the state.

Uzor Epundu, Chairman of the ANSFA Disciplinary Committee, thanked the sponsor for bankrolling the competition thereby adding glamour to the annual football programme. 

Epundu informed that the LOC has done a thorough job in ensuring that participants are players who are 40 years and above, disclosing that all rules of the game in line with FIFA and IFAB will be applied during the course of the competition while admonishing the participating teams to ensure they conform to the tenets of the game.

Austin Mkparu, a member of ANSFA Referees Appointment Committee assured of free and fair officiating during the competition. Mkparu informed that referees who will officiate the matches are qualified, physically fit referees who are tested and trusted.

The competition's main organising committee, MOC, Chairman during the maiden edition of the All Stars Football Tournament last year, Chief Chijioke Ezenwanwe eulogized the benefactor of the competition, Patrick Okwuelingo, for his support towards the project. He confirmed that the competition has come to stay, geared towards taking football to the next level in the state.

Chief Ezenwanwe called on the participating teams to ensure they conform to the tenets of the game while also affirming that the ANSFA is credible in organizing a hitch-free competition.

The Babatem All Star Football Competition will run for a period of two months with matches to be played Saturdays and Sundays at two venues of the Awka City Stadium and Eziowelle Civic Centre football pitch.