The state preliminaries of the 19th edition of the All Nigeria Secondary Schools Football Championship tagged ‘NNPC/Shell Cup has kicked off across the states of the Federation.
According to the National Coordinator of the championship, the state finals shall be played across the states on May 30 and 31.
The final of the 2017 has been tentatively scheduled to take place at the main bowl of the Teslim Balogun stadium, Lagos on June 29.
The zonal preliminaries would be played in nine cities across the country subsequently to be followed by the quarterfinals.
However, the Nigeria School Sport Federation, organisers of the championship have instructed all state officers to ensure that all preliminary matches leading to the state finals are properly organized, hitch-free and devoid of any complications. The body also implored the monitoring officers to ensure strict compliance to rules and regulations guiding the championship.
The state preliminaries are expected to produce a champion school that would represent each state of the Federation including the Federal capital territory at the zonal preliminaries.
Meanwhile, a comprehensive calendar and the total package of this year’s edition of the championship shall be unveiled by the sponsors at a media briefing later in the month.
The 2016 edition of the NNPC/Shell Cup was won by Excel Education Centre, Port Harcourt in a keenly contested final after beating FOSLA Academy Secondary School, Karshi, Abuja 3-2 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.
It would be recalled that the winner went home with a cash prize of N2.5m while the runners-up got N1.5m for the development of sports facilities in the schools. The 2017 edition promises to be fun-filled, as various activities have been lined up by the organizers towards achieving this.