By Alibor Andrew
After taking the whole country and lovers beyond by surprise – booking Nigeria Premier Football League place in just one year of existence – Paul Offor Sporting Football Club of Lagos went on to make a bold statement at the Naija Super 8, beating the likes of Remo Stars, Akwa United, Katsina United – enroute to winning the maiden edition of the tournament.
Sporting Lagos Head Coach, Paul Offor has heaped praises on his boys for the ‘Beyond Imagination’s Move’ which saw them brush aside top NPFL guns to achieve the overwhelming feat.
The team through their journey to the NPFL played already established teams and held their own to achieve high, wrapping their fairytale run with the Naija Super 8 triumph at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos State.
With the game ending in a 1 all draw, the game went into penalty shootouts. Remo Stars’ Nduka Harrison and Ismail Sodiq failed to send their kicks past Christian Nwoke, who sealed the victory for Sporting Lagos.
While expressing his gratitude to the fans who played a vital role in their successes so far, the former Warri Wolves assistant manager noted that they never intended to win the preseason tourney than to come to make a true conviction to the Nigeria football community that they can compete with the big boys in the scene of actions when the 2023/24 NPL season begins.
“We wanted to come and play our football, to test ourselves. There was no pressure about winning, the most important thing is that we wanted to have a good preseason to see what our boys can do against the big boys.”
Paul Offor could not deny his utmost satisfaction in the team by saying; “And they did it, they showed us that they can live up to expectations and we are so proud of them.”
The winners of the competition will get N25 million while the second runner-up goes home with N9 million.
Sporting Lagos will throw the hats in the ring next season to complement the top level they have reached in the space of 365 days.