Flykite Productions, organisers of the recently launched NAIJA Super 8 football competition, have commended the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and other major football stakeholders for their support. The commendation was expressed by Jenkins Alumona, Managing Director, Flykite Productions, in an interview over the weekend.
Alumona stated that the NFF, which licensed the tournament; other football governing bodies and administrators have offered enormous support for NAIJA Super 8.
“We are grateful for the support of the Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau-led NFF, which licensed the tournament and has been of immense support. We are also thankful for the support of other football governing bodies, club owners and administrators. They have been terrific, offering guidance and shoulders to lean on when we’ve needed them and are still not tired of doing the same. There is nothing we've asked of them that they haven't given,” Alumona said.
He noted that the support received is an indication of various stakeholders’ desire to see NAIJA Super 8 along with similar initiatives accelerate domestic football’s revival.
The two-level competition, open to clubs across the country, was conceived to help revive domestic club football by bringing great excitement through fan-focused initiatives. Qualification is through public fan voting, which commenced on 10 April and runs till 12 May. The voting process is managed by globally-reputed audit firm, Deloitte, to ensure its credibility.
The first level of the tournament will see 12 teams, two from each geo-political zone of the country, play single-match elimination games at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, from 1-3 June. Winners will be the zonal representatives in the second stage.
“The 12 clubs are on the 41-club shortlist drawn from across the country by the NAIJA Super 8 Advisory Committee. Two clubs with the highest number of votes from each zone will qualify for the play-offs. Six teams will emerge at the end of the play-offs and will be joined by two others, which are wildcard entries to be decided by the organisers,” explained Alumona.
The second stage will be held at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos, from 16-25 June, sequel to the unveiling of the two wild cards in addition to the teams that qualified to make eight clubs.
Qualified teams will be divided into two groups of four and play in a tournament format, with two teams with the highest point tallies from each group proceeding to the semi-final and two winners moving into the final.
Alumona noted that incentives attached to the tournament will heighten the level of teams’ performances and fan excitement.
“Clubs that qualify for the play-offs will get N2 million each to offset their travel/logistics expenses to Uyo, where they will be provided accommodation while there.
“Those who make it to Lagos will earn N3 million per game exclusive of transportation and accommodation costs, which will be borne by us.
“Losing finalists get N9 million for just getting into the final while the winners get N25million in addition to what they have earned from the earlier games. Winner of the Man of the Match for each game, to be decided by fan voting, earns N250,000, while each player named in the Team of the Tournament will earn N100,000 each,” he stated.
He called on clubs to bring their fans to the two venues, as the organisers will provide some money to cushion the cost impact as well as provide accommodation. He also advised clubs to rally their fans to vote to get them into the play-offs, from where they have a shot at glory.
“So far, we are delighted with the response of the fans.Fans who want their club to participate in NAIJA Super 8 need to vote on the voting platforms, one of which is the NAIJA Super 8 website - www.naijasuper8.ng,” he counselled.