The maiden edition of the Savanna football tournament has kicked off in Igbotako, a community in the Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The tournament, which began on Sunday, 1 December, will end on 28 December when the final match will be played to determine the winners.
While speaking at the opening ceremony, which took place on the football pitch of Lubokun Comprehensive High School, Igbotako, the founder, Samson Omoseye, said the aim of the tournament, which will be played annually, is to encourage football development at the grassroots level.
A businessman, Mr Omoseye, who is the chief executive officer of Savanna Lounge and Restaurant with branches in Ondo and Ekiti States respectively, said the tournament was his way of bringing about youth empowerment and talent development for community development.
According to the philanthropist and hospitality guru, the winner of the competition will go home with N300, 000 while the first runner-up will go home with N200,000. The third-place winner will go home with N150,000 and the fourth-placed team will take home N100,000
Besides the cash reward, the Most Valuable Player(MVP) of the tournament will have the opportunity to go for trials with Remo Stars, an Ogun State-based football club playing in the National Football League, to be sponsored by the founder of the tournament.
Sixteen clubs are participating in the maiden edition of the tournament.
