IFC League grand finale set for Aug. 10

Posted : 07 August 2024

The grand finale of the 87th edition of the Ibadan Football Council (IFC) League will climax on Saturday, August 10, according to the organizers.

The competition, which remains West Africa's oldest and biggest grassroots football fiesta, will not produce a clear winner until the last two matches are played.

Both matches will be held at different venues but simultaneously on Saturday.

Adjudged as the most thrilling of all editions, this year's football competition may also not have a bona fide highest goal scorer until the end of the last matches.

Debutants Karim Adeyemi FC, which struggled through the qualifiers, produced a superlative performance in the league proper to sit atop the league table with 38 points from 18 matches.

The league toppers will confront the 2022 Federation Cup champions, Saki United, in a match that promises to be explosive.

Following closely with 36 points are the Young Stars FC, which boasts boisterous fans and supporters backed by David Abraham's Xplicit dancers.

Young Stars FC have yet to win the coveted trophy in its over 30 years of existence.

Young Stars, which have surprised many football watchers, will tackle the Unibadan football team, which may prove a hard nut to crack due to the strength and agility of its youthful players.

What would further make this year's grand finale unique is the fact that the highest goal scorer may not be determined until the last matches.

Hassan Akanni, the prolific striker of YK Abass FC, who has an uncanny ability for scoring goals, currently tops the chart with 11 goals. YK Abass is placed 11th on the league chart.

Akanni is followed closely by the duo of Victor Okeleke and "wonderboy" winger Timothy Ogunbode of Karim Adeyemi FC. They both have nine and eight goals, respectively.

Both players could score two goals or even a hat-trick to upstage Akanni; however, this looks like a very tall order in a match of this magnitude. But as it is with the IFC League, anything and everything is possible.

The 87th edition also produced the toughest match of the decade. This breathtaking super match was between defending champions Marvelous FC and Unibadan FT, which had Akinkunmi Amoo of FC Copenhagen, Denmark, and Balogun Azeez of Sao Paulo in action. The epic encounter, whose rating surpassed many NPFL matches, flared fireworks from start to finish and ended 5-5.

As usual, the 10 best teams of the championship will take home cash prizes. The sums of N250,000, N150,000, and N100,000 await the best three teams, even as the ultimate winner gets a trophy and medals alongside the cash prize.

IFC League grand finale set for Aug. 10

ADD A COMMENT :

Hot Topics