Traditional Teams Dominate Naija Super 8 Fixtures

Flykite Productions, organisers of Naija Super 8 tournament, have revealed fixtures for the zonal qualifiers of the tournament at a glitzy official unveiling ceremony at the weekend.

The ceremony, which took place at MultiChoice Studios in Lagos and broadcast live on SuperSport, witnessed the announcement of results of the fan voting exercise authenticated by Deloitte, a renowned international audit firm.

The ticket to represent the North Central geo-political zone at the finals will be contested by City FC of Abuja and Lobi Stars of Makurdi, which had the zone's highest vote tallies in the voting exercise.

The ticket for the North West geo-politcal zone is a head-on collision between Kano Pillars and Katsina United, while Yobe Stars and Gombe United contest the slot for the North East.

The South East will see derby-like clash between two legacy teams, two-time Champions League winners, Enyimba of Aba and Heartland FC of Owerri, while Shooting Stars will duel with Remo Stars for the right to fly the flag for the South West geo-political zone.

The South-South presents a big guns' clash between reigning Nigeria Professional Football League champions, Rivers United and Bendel Insurance who are yet to be beaten in all this football tournaments season.

The 12 teams topped the polls in their respective geo-political zones in a list featuring clubs across league divisions.

The zonal qualifiers are to hold from between 23 and 25 at Eket Township Stadium in Akwa Ibom State. The six winners of the play-offs will qualify for the Naija Super 8 finals to be held from July 7 to 16 at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos, where they will be joined by two wildcard entries.

The tournament is in partnership with MultiChoice Nigeria and sponsors, MTN, DStv, Hero Lager, MoniePoint, Pepsi and Custodian Life Assurance, some of whose representatives were in attendance.

Also present were representatives of the Nigeria Football Federation, Nigeria Professional Football League, Nigerian National League and the football clubs.

The event also witnessed the official unveiling of ex-internationals who would serve as mentors for the tournament. They include: Julius Aghahowa, Mutiu Adepoju, Ike Shorunmu, Tijani Babangida, Jonathan Akpoborie, Garba Lawal, Austin Eguavoen and Victor Ezeji.

Mavin Records artiste, Crayon, also thrilled the attendees and home viewers with exciting performances of his hit songs.