Sports development organisation Divtech Sports International has unveiled plans to expand its youth tournament portfolio to include football, snooker and table tennis competitions, as part of efforts to engage more young talents across Lagos State, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Speaking at a press conference in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos on Saturday, Divtech Sports Director, Oladapo Olalekan, revealed that the 2025 edition of their annual football tournament would kick off on January 25 at the Oki Primary School stadium.
“The main reason we are here today is because many of our youth are being destabilised. Being a sportsman, I decided to create this platform to give them something to follow, something they love doing, something they believe in.
“We’re not just organising a tournament; we’re building a platform for youth development through sports,” Olalekan stated, highlighting funding as their biggest challenge since inception.
The tournament, which started three years ago, has grown from featuring just football to incorporating other sports, with this year’s edition set to run until March 22.
“This year, we’re taking another step forward. We’ll hold football competitions, snooker competitions, and table tennis competitions. Year after year, we plan to add more sports,” Olalekan added.
The organisers announced an increased prize money of N150,000 for the winners and N80,000 for runners-up in the 16-team football tournament, which will feature teams competing in a conference format across four groups. For the last two editions, the winners got N100,000 and the second got N60,000
Chairman of participating club Alim City, Charles Adetokunbo, highlighted player discipline as a major concern, saying, “Players nowadays don’t want to be disciplined.
“Some feel they have arrived and don’t want to follow rules, which is why they don’t reach their desired position. We’re trying to help them understand the dangers of being undisciplined.”
Chukwuemeka Ofor, who represented the officiating and security team, promised top standards of officiating at the tournament.
“We promise to use four officials in every match this tournament, including assistant referees. While we recognize the importance of having VAR technology, we are still growing and will consider such additions in subsequent competitions with sponsorship,” Ofor said.
The tournament has already made an impact, with 18 promising players identified last year receiving guidance about international football opportunities.