With the draws for the 12 participating teams concluded on Wednesday in Akure, Ondo State, all is set for the kickoff of the second edition of the D’Royal Off-season Football Competition, which begins July 6 at the Akure Township Stadium.
The 12 teams have been drawn into three groups of four teams each, with the winner and runners-up in each group joined by the two best losers qualifying for the quarter-finals and through the semis to the grand finale.
This marks a significant development in the vision of tournament sponsor, Matthew Olaniboji, CEO of Golden Royal Intercontinental Ltd, in fostering grassroots youth development using football as a veritable tool.
The winner of this edition will go home with N500,000 prize money plus lots of other gifts. Runners-up will earn N250,000, and third-place finishers will bank N100,000. This is a significant increase in the prize money of the inaugural edition, where the winners Weli-weli FC, went home with N300,000.
Three teams, including champions Weli-weli FC, runners-upVictory Lions and Fair Play award-winning team, SGIC, qualified automatically for this year’s edition of the competition, which has as its theme ‘CLASH OF CHAMPIONS: Rise to Glory.’