EVEN before the commencement of this year's edition of the Gulder Ultimate Five A-Side Football competition, former Super Eagles striker, Victor Nosa Ikpeba, had seen the benefits coming.The zonal preliminaries had kickoff on April 27 across six venues-Makurdi, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Oleh, Ijebu Ode before arriving at the National Institute for Sports (NIS) in Lagos. With all the zonal qualifiers now concluded, all is set for the knock out stage of the competition on Wednesday, June 13, with the grand finale scheduled for June 16.Ikpeba, a member of the Atlanta '96 Olympics soccer gold winning team had told The Guardian when the sponsor, Nigerian Breweries, unveiled the N8million package for the winning teams, that the initiative was worth commending because according to him, the company was 'sowing a seed for tomorrow' by giving back to the community.He said: 'I must express my gratitude to Gulder for touching the lives of the youth through this sports development initiative.'Few months after Ikpeba's declaration, the people are counting the gains of the competition. From the Abu King Playing Ground, Makurdi, Benue State, where the first leg of the zonal qualifiers took place, to the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt, Delta State University, Oleh campus, Dipo Dina Stadium, Ijebu Ode in Ogun State and the National Institute for Sports (NIS) in Lagos, it had been one discovering of one talent to another.The Mid-West zone qualifiers of the competition took place at Oleh, Delta State and as the competition was drawing to a close, the coach of National U-17 Female team (Falconets), Peter Devdevbo, sang praises of Nigeria Breweries and the Gulder brand especially for the innovation.Devdevbo, who is also the head coach of Delta Queens FC, was one of the dignitaries that watched proceedings at the Oleh Township Stadium. He advised that Gulder could extend the competition for the female genders.'This is quite interesting,' he told journalists. 'The competition has generated so much interest this year in Oleh. But I want to advise Gulder to do the same for the females as we have talents scattered across the country. We all know that female football is not where we all want it to be, but with companies like Gulder coming into the picture, things can only get better.'If more companies can stand up and fund this kind of grassroots football competition, then we will definitely discover more girls that will go on to do the nation proud,' he added.According to Devdevbo, the competition will grow bigger as the years go by. 'Gulder cannot imagine what they have started as this will only grow bigger and I foresee a situation where three days will not be enough again to sift through teams in the various zones,' he concluded.Dedevbo was not alone, as former Green Eagles goalkeeper, Emmanuel Okala, also applauded the innovation, which according to him will open a new way for Nigerian football.Okala, who was present at the Southwest zonal qualifier conducted at the Rangers of Enugu practice pitch, said he was particularly happy with the turnout of teams for the tournament'I sincerely want to thank Nigerian Breweries for the opportunity given to these young lads. This tournament has kept the boys very busy and it's a unique initiative. The regular football game of 11 aside is becoming too competitive, and not every Nigeria footballer has the opportunity to play in the national team.'Now that 5-aside football competition is becoming popular in the world, our players can use this platform to build a career for themselves. I foresee a situation where some players will emerge from this Gulder-5-Aside to become Nigeria's heroes tomorrow. It is a welcome development most especially at the grassroots level and for the development of 5-aside game in Nigeria. Nigeria Breweries should be commended.'Okala, who was part of Rangers team that ruled Africa in the late 70s as well as the Green Eagles squad the won the 1980 African Nations Cup in Lagos, called on other corporate bodies to emulate the initiative of Nigerian Breweries by sponsoring talent hunt competitions.As the young lads look forward to the knock out stage of the completion scheduled for June 13 in Lagos, Corporate Affairs Adviser of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Yusuf Ageni, says more excitement awaits both the players and their officials.The grand finale of the competition, which is in its third consecutive year, will hold on June 16 in Lagos.Ageni said: 'So far, the 2012 edition of the Gulder Ultimate Five A-Side has been able to live up to its billing by focusing on the treasure of talents, the grassroots, the city squares and corners, the open fields and most importantly, the unexpected footballer who has the amateur spirit burning in him and waiting for the ultimate recognition. We are very happy that the Gulder brand has been able to provide all that for the players. We have always been in the forefront of innovation with specific emphasis on sports development. We will continue to do so.'According to Ageni, the original motive of floating the championship, which is to empower the youths and discover new talents, have been met as shown in the first and second editions.He said: 'In 2010, grassroots soccer in Nigeria received yet another boost with the launch of the Gulder Ultimate Five-A-side football competition. Nigerians were thrilled by the beauty, artistic excellence and skills displayed by future football giants on mobile artificial turfs. We did it again in 2011 and now, we are about witnessing the end of the third edition.'The 401 Road Planners team won the first edition in 2010, while Sholly Babes won the second edition in 2011.Among the teams that will do battle in the knock out stage, which begins on Wednesday in Lagos are Ultimate FC and Etienne FC both of Enugu State, Sheriff FC and Mandiba FC of Lagos and the Campus FC, Oleh, a team comprising of students of Delta State University, Oleh campus.Also, the Port Harcourt City Academy and Network FC of Port Harcourt will fly the South-South zone's flag, just as Supremes FC and Gidan Bege FC will fly the North-Central Zone flag.
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