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Nineteen teams have
confirmed that they will participate in the second edition of the
annual Rivers State Governor’s Cup which is being staged in partnership
with the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) The tournament, due
to kick off on January 20 at the Liberation stadium in Port Harcourt is
expected to mark the commencement of Rivers State football season.

Ibigoni Benjamin
Akobo, Secretary of the Rivers State FA, confirmed that the
participants have increased for this year’s edition of the event.

“We have 19 teams
registered for this year’s edition and they have been preparing for the
past six months with the goal of dethroning defending champions Okrika
LGA who won the last edition in 2009” he said. “This tournament will
now kick start our season. We had to move the event to early 2011 to
kick start the year and we hope this will aid the development of our
football calendar.” He added

Exhibition of talent

The football
fiesta, which runs from January 20 – February 12 is set to offer
thousands of talented footballers in the 23 local government areas of
the state opportunity to show case their skills to the big leagues in
the land.

The last edition of
the tournament ended on high note with a pulsating final between Okrika
and Tai. Okrika won 2-0. The event also made it possible for the Rivers
State FA to select some players who are now part of the state’s
contingent preparing for the national sports festival to be hosted by
the state this year.

According to the
sports management facilitator, Emeka Enyadike, there are plans to
invite notable coaches, local and international scouts to the event
with prospects for identified players to be selected for professional
careers or overseas scholarships.

“We are looking at
opportunities for those who could also attract international
scholarships that will be offered through our partnerships, especially
those players with good academic records,” he said.