The Abia State government has stated that it will embark on a talent hunt amongst male adolescents in the state as the State Football Fest (ASF) commences on August 23, 2025, across the 17 LGAs of the state.
The football tournament, which is organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, is for young people between the age of 16 to 23 years.
The sports fiesta, according to the state government, is aimed at developing sports at the grassroots with the target of active participation of football clubs across the 184 wards.
Eric Asomugha, vice chairman, Local Organising Committee, Abia Football Festival, while briefing journalists at the JAAC Secretariat, Umuahia, said that the competition at the LGAs levels would commence from August 23rd in all the 17 Local Government Areas.
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“So, we have 184 wards in Abia State, from 17 local government areas, competing in a total of 202 matches, over 6 or 7 months. We are working on different things. We are going to have the best player in each match.
“We shall be inviting scouts from local, state, national and international to fish out the talents that are going to be discovered in this great tournament.
“So, every good player has an opportunity to progress beyond this tournament. Moving forward, we are going to have a draw. “We have three senatorial districts in Abia State. We are going to hold a draw in each of these zones for the local governments under them,” Asomugha stated.
He disclosed that the committee would hold a seminar to educate the officials and the participants on the rules of the game, to keep them updated on recent happenings in the world of sports.
Asomugha, who described the Abia State Wards & Local Government Football Tournaments as the first of its kind, saluted Governor Alex Otti for his interest in sports development.
He said that the seminar would begin on August 13, 2025, for Abia South, at the Aba South LGA hall, 15th, at Ohafia headquarters for Abia North zone and on the 16th, in Umuahia for the Abia Central zone.
Anthony Chinasa, member representing Umuahia Central State Constituency and co-chairman, House Committee on Sports, Abia House of Assembly in his speech, described the tournament as talent hunt driven.
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He said that the exercise would allow Abia youths to be heard all over the world in football development.
Chinasa said that Abia has been known for a lot of innovations in the last two years, saying that the reason is because of the man who is at the centre of activities in Abia State, in the person of Alex Chioma Otti.
Uzor Nwachukwu, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and Nwaobilor Ananaba, his Youth and Sports Development counterpart, thanked Governor Otti for his great support to sports development in Abia state.
While commending the organising committee members for the hard work they put in driving the process, they said that the competition is not just a football competition but a sustainable engagement of discovering and nurturing talents that would make Abia and Nigeria proud.
