Mr Patrick Ngwaogu, the sponsor of Unity Pre-season Tournament says the victory of Like-minds FC, an amateur club side over Niger Tornadoes, is a reward of hard work.
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Ngwaogu spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja after the 2024 edition of the tournament.
NAN reports that the 2024 Pre-season Tournament ended with Like-minds Football Club of Gwagwalada defeating Niger Tornadoes of Minna 1-0 in a highly contested game.
He said that the third-tier level Like-minds FC of Gwagwalada won the trophy purely on the pitch through maximum show of capacity.
The Sponsor explained that the worst thing to do in football is to undermine a team on the grounds of it being an amateur.
“Like-minds Football Club of Gwagwalada was founded just two years ago and they are already performing wonders.
“They earlier defeated Nasarawa United Football Club by 3-1 making it clear that they are a team not to be undermined.
“So I heartily congratulate Like-minds FC for their emergence as the winners of the 2024 edition of the Unity Preseason Tournament.
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“You are a club to watch with this your level of superlative performance in the field of play.” He said.
Ngwaogu who is also the Chairman of the Unity Preseason Tournament, said that as an amateur club of the NLO, Like-minds FC have given a good account of themselves.
“Everybody saw their winning as not a fluke but a product of hard work,” He added.
He said that the preseason tournament was not meant to build teams within the northern conference for the new football season, especially the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).
The sponsor said that if the participating teams make good use of their experiences in the tournament, they will be able to prepare well for the new season.
Niger Tornadoes, Nasarawa United and Plateau United from NPFL participated in the 2024 edition of the tournament among others from the lower leagues and academies.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that six players from the junior clubs are billed to be signed by clubs from the NPFL.