5000 schools for 2017 COPA Coca-Cola

No less than 5000 secondary schools across

Nigeria will battle for honours in the 2017 edition

of the COPA Coca-Cola soccer tournament for

U-15 players.

At a press briefing in Lagos yesterday to

announce the kick-off of tournament, the

Marketing Manager of Coca-Cola Nigeria, Cletus

Onyebuoha, said this year’s competition has

been divided into three stages which include

grassroots, group and final stages.

He explained that at the grassroots level,

schools from the 36 states and Abuja will

compete for a chance to represent their states

at the regional stage.

“During the group stage, each region will be

divided into groups from which a winner will

emerge from the tournament sequential structure

for the next round. The final stage is the national

finals,” Onyebuoha explained further.

He also said that at the national level, players in

the top three teams and top three schools will

benefit from an educational trust fund totaling

N22 million, as well as cash prizes totaling N2

million.

Onyebuoha added that the tournament which is

now in its ninth edition has contributed largely to

the success of some of the participants who are

now pursuing a career as professional

footballers.

Also speaking, the president of Nigeria School

Sports Federation, Ibrahim Muhammed, warned

participating schools against fielding over age

players.

Muhammed lauded the initiatives, saying that

Copa Coca-Cola supports Nigeria’s drive to raise

the educational standards of pupils through

sporting activities.