August 13, (THEWILL) – Akwa United will begin their quest for honours at the Governor Douye Diri Pre-Season Football Tournament with a clash against Abia Warriors on Monday, August 12, 2024, at 4pm at the Samson Siasia Stadium in Yenagoa.
At the draws ceremony conducted in Yenagoa on Sunday evening, Akwa United were drawn in Group A alongside Abia Warriors, Sunshine Stars and Bayelsa United, while Group B consists of Krusaders FC, Bendel Insurance, Rivers United and Kwara United.
The Promise Keeper’s second match will be against Sunshine Stars on Wednesday, August 14, by 10am before engaging Bayelsa United in their last group game on Friday, August 16, by 10am at the same venue.
The top teams from each of the two groups will face each other in the final on Sunday while the second-placed teams in each of the two groups will battle it out for the third place playoffs.
The winners of the pre-season tournament will go home with a cash prize of One Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira, the runners-up will pocket One Million Naira while the third-placed team will receive Five Hundred Thousand Naira.
Akwa United arrived in Yenagoa on Sunday evening with 36 players and some key officials and the head coach of the team, Baba Ganaru, revealed that he will use the pre-season tournament to fine-tune his team’s preparations ahead of the upcoming 2024-25 Nigeria Premier Football League.
“This is indeed a good opportunity for me and my technical team to properly look at the team we have on ground ahead of the new season.
“We have brought in some fresh legs into the team and we are willing to give them an opportunity in this pre-season tournament to prove to us that they are ready to play for this club.
“To be honest, we won’t really be looking at results but the understanding and team cohesion in real match situations will be our major concerns here in Yenagoa, knowing that when we achieve what we want from this tournament. It will help us to build a formidable team as we plan for the new season,” he said.
According to the organisers, each team will be allowed to make seven substitutions in the competition that will run from Monday, August 12-18, 2024, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
