It’s a new dawn in Osun football as the ecosystem is experiencing a thrilling turnaround. As SmartCity Osun State Football League finally kicked off in style amidst glitz and glamour, the much-talked-about opening is worth its hype.
Soccer fans thronged Osogbo Township Stadium with excitement as early as 10 am on Tuesday, 13th February 2024, to witness soccer artistry as the league finally kickstarts.
The opening fixtures set up high-flying Elebuibon Boys and ambitious Hommydays FA in a classical clash as the two sides battled veraciously under a calm atmosphere. Dominant Elebuibon Boys ran riots in the first half courtesy of a brace from Jayeola Tolu in under four minutes, as Alex Ossai reduced the deficit for Hommydays just before the break. Upon resumption, Hommydays forward Joseph Gideon capitalised on the opponents’ defensive mishap to level the scores (2-2), as the scoreline remained unchanged till regulation time.
The second match witnessed a five-goal thriller as it’s all Hammola Feeders affairs, scoring four times through Shittu Yusuf, Ariwoola Toheeb, Adigun Ismail and Segun Moses while Adewuyi Nurein of Brilliant United provided a consolation goal in all local derby duel.
Foremost paintmaker, Armstrong Paints, rewarded the outstanding players in Jayeola Tolu and Yusuf Shittu with gifts. Osun FA supremo Mayor Sola Fanawopo lauded the state government, headline sponsor, SmartCity and corporate partners and further assured a hitch-free season. He stated that the gains of the tourney would be too numerous to mention as the platform is set up for lads to take their careers to the next level.
Osun State Deputy Governor cum commissioner for Sports Prince Kola Adewusi led other top government functionaries to perform the ceremonial kick-off, while notable football administrators, scouts, ex-internationals, football stakeholders, football writers and content providers were also thrilled by the young guns.
SmartCity Osun State Football League powered by Osun State Football Associations will feature over 704 players across 4 Conferences and has BlackdrumTV as the league broadcast partner. Other partners include Trumax Pharmaceuticals, Sportalytics, Threadsandus, Desarrollar and Sotera Water.