First Bank/Sam Okwaraji Foundation U-16 tournament: Organizers apologize for slight delay in kick-off of Northern Zonal Elimination matches
The Okwaraji Foundation and Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF), organizers of the maiden Sam Okwaraji National U-16 football tournament have apologized to their sponsor and the general public for the 48 hours delay in the commencement of the Northern zonal elimination matches of the championship.
In a statement they issued, the organizers noted that the delay was due to unforseen logistic problems that affected participating states from arriving their various centers on time
“We wish to inform the general public, our partners and all stakeholders that the Northern Region Zonal Elimination Stage suffered a 48-hour delay.
“The delay was due to unforeseen logistical challenges which affected the arrival of participating states at the various zonal match centres in Abuja (North Central), Kano (North West), and Bauchi (North East)
They however affirmed that those challenges have now been fully addressed, and all stakeholders are working in synergy to ensure a successful outing.
“We wish to state that the Northern elimination, which was originally billed to commence on Saturday, 19th September, 2026, has now officially commenced today, Monday, 21st September, 2026.
“We sincerely apologize to our proud sponsor, FirstBank Nigeria, and to all other stakeholders for any inconvenience this delay may have caused.
“We remain committed to delivering a grand and memorable tournament that everyone will be proud of”, concludes the statement
The FirstBank Samuel Okwaraji Nigeria Secondary Schools Football Championship is a collaboration between the Samuel Okwaraji Foundation and the Nigeria School Sports Federation with the active support of the Nigeria Football Federation and the National Sports Commission to honour the Legacy of the late Footballer Samuel Okwaraji and contributes to the development of grass root football in Nigeria with FirstBank Nigeria as sponsor
The Southern Elimination will be held between the 25th and 30th of September 2026 in 0werii for South East, Asaba for South South and Lagos for the South West
