By Akeem Busari 

Football is often described as the opium of the people. It is not for nothing. This much came to play as most football stakeholders, including ex-Nigeria internationals, local and foreign football scouts, stormed the finals of the second edition of the prestigious Jagaban Football Cup, to watch and enjoy the exciting and thrilling games played on Friday, at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos.

The final match of the well-attended four-day invitational tournament that featured eight grassroots football teams, saw defending champions Smart City FC defeat arch-rivals 36 Lion FC 7-6 on penalties after playing out 1-1 draw at regulations period to retain its title. 

 

Speaking exclusively to Sports Chronicle Magazine during the finals, chief organiser of the tournament and President of 36 Lion Investment Limited, Gafar Olawale Liameed expressed his satisfaction on the success of the tournament. 

"We give praises to God for His mercies and protection upon us throughout this tournament," Gafar said.

Speaking on plans to make subsequent editions of the tournament better and bigger, Gafar promised to bring lots of unique and exciting features to the tournament. 

"This is the second edition. Beyond the facts that the Jagaban Cup symbolises the virtues and socio-economic re-engineering ethos of President BolaTinubu, it's equally a testament to our desires to birth a progressive and beneficial football ecosystem in Lagos and Nigeria," Gafar, the recently elected Chairman of Lagos FA enthused.

"Football is my life. I breath and live for the beautiful game. It is my destiny, and I shall continue to work and collaborate with other genuinely concerned football stakeholders and investors, to return the glorious days of Lagos and Nigeria football," he stated.