Umuanyamele Umuohiagu 2024 yuletide fiesta ends in grand style
By Athan Agbakwuru, Owerri
Photo: The two teams that played at the final. L-R: Umuokerebi FC in Orange jersey and Umueze FC in green jersey being addressed by the match officials before kick-off of the game.
The people of Umuohiagu Community in Ngor Okpala LGA and their neighbours were last Sunday treated to a unique and exciting grand finale of the weeklong maiden 2024 Umuanyamele Yuletide Cultural/Sports Festival to mark the end of the preceding year and joyfully usher in the new year, 2025.
The just event concluded event tagged, ‘Umuanyamele Peace and Unity Sports Festival Maiden Edition 2024/2025 was co-sponsored by three illustrious sons of the village namely:
Engr. Bruno Ekeanyanwu, Ezinwa Chinedu Ekeocha and Mr. John Opara(Johnblaze).
The fiesta which featured athletics, cultural dance displays by girls and women from the six kindreds of Umuanyamele Village as well as draught game competition among others came to a close with a football match final between Umueze FC and Umuokerebi FC at the playground of Umuohiagu Secondary School.
In a keenly contested soccer encounter, Umueze FC edged out their rivals, the Umuokerebi team by 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out after an eventual goalless full time of play.
The Umueze team, as winners of the gold trophy went home with a whopping N1million while the runners-up, Umuokerebi FC got N600,000.00 faking the second place in the action-packed encounter.
While the Umueze male team, on Sunday, defeated Umuokerebi to lift the coveted trophy, the Umuokerebi female football team, had on Saturday trounced the female side of Umueze kindred 1-0 to emerge winners in the female soccer category.
Speaking prior to the kickoff of the final, on behalf of the sponsors, Engr. Bruno Cletus Ekeanyanwu commended the organizers, his kinsmen and the participants in the various activities for their dedication and peaceful conclusion of the exercise.
Bruno explained that he was motivated to sponsor the tournament by the challenge thrown up during the last Umuohiagu Unity Cup, the desire to encourage grassroot sports development and the need to provide social entertainment programmes for the people during the yuletide festivities.
He promised that the trio with the collaboration of other well-meaning sons of the village will take the game to the next level as an annual event going forward from the coming yuletide, stressing that the youths and women need to be meaningfully engaged during and after the yuletide, hence the focus on sports.
In his opening speech, the monarch-designate(Eze-elec) of Umuohiagu, Chief Donatus Nzeribe Nwachukwu, applauded the initiative and vision of the sponsor/donor for helping the people heave a sigh of relief via the soccer and cultural entertainment.
While praying God to grant Engr. Bruno Ekeanyanwu more fruitful years, Eze-elect Nwachukwu commended the organizers, the participants and the entire people of Umuanyamele for contributing to the success of the event.
The Eze-elect used the occasion to sue for peace and harmony in Umuohiagu community and urged other privileged individuals in the community to emulate the sponsor.
Highlights of the occasion was the presentation of the gold and silver trophies to the winners of the male and female soccer competitions as well as awards to deserving participants for excellent performance.
