BEVERLY HILLS, April 04, (THEWILL) – On Saturday, at the lively Elegushi Beach in Lagos, South West Nigeria, the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Melvin Pinnick officially kicked off the new Nigeria Beach Soccer League as Nigeria joined the class of beach soccer countries on the continent with their own leagues like Senegal and Ghana.
The realisation of the dream to commence with a domestic beach soccer league is attributable to the determination of the NFF to commit to their objective of Football development at the grassroots and, according to Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande, the Chairman of Nigeria Beach Soccer Association, it was made possible by the foresight and progressive leadership of the Amaju Pinnick-led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Board.
Present at the inaugural ceremony was Pinnick himself in the company of the 1st Vice President of the Federation Barr Seyi Akinwunmi, the Nigeria Beach Soccer League Coordinator, Mahmoud Hadejia and other officials of the football governing body.
In his remarks, the NFF President expressed how excited he was to be part of the epochal moment for the country, which he said he could not dare to miss despite his busy schedule. Pinnick reiterated the endorsement of the Federation of the beach soccer league and pledged his total support for the Nigeria Beach Soccer Association, responsible for governing the affairs of the newly formed League.
“I’m not going talk much today because I’m very excited that we are finally kicking off the Beach Soccer League in Nigeria. I’m here to officially endorse this project and to also show the Federation’s full backing,” the football administrator said.
“I want to appreciate everyone that made this happen because it has been a collective effort despite the many hurdles. It has been long overdue and by God’s grace we will take beach soccer to greater heights of international relevance.”
When the hostilities began after the opening ceremony, a batch of thrilling first round matches took place with the Group A opener starring Kebbi Beach Soccer Club going against Badagry United as the two sides to ever compete in the first ever beach football of the league. The men from Kebbi beat their Badagry counterparts 4-2 to get their title contention underway on a solid footing.
Apart from that match, the results from matches played in Group B on Sunday, had Igbogbo BSC of Lagos with the best opening day score. They hammered Edo HCF 6-3, while other high scoring matches included the 5-3 victory of Anambra BSC over Kwara BSC in Group A. Kada BSC squeezed past Smart City of Lagos 6-4 to register a bad day for Lagos teams in the league.
The full results from Matchday one are:
Group A
Kebbi BSC 4-2 Badagry United
Kwara BSC 3-5 Anambra BSC
Group B
Igbogbo BSC 6-3 Edo BSC
Kada BSC 6-4 Smart City
On Sunday, April 4, the following are billed to clash in the beach soccer league fixtures:
Badagry United vs Kwara BSC
Edo HCF vs Kada B
Anambra vs Kebbi BSC
Smart City vs Igbogbo BSC
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
