The 2021 5Stars Premier League has been nothing but progressive. A league that began as a get together of select teams and friends of the founder and CEO 5Stars Football and Consultancy company Mr. Olumide Aturu has become the leading grassroots 5-8 aside league in the nation’s capital Abuja. The very first edition began in July 2019 with barely any tangible sponsorship, saved for the donation of Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa in one of his many philanthropic endeavours. The last couple of years has seen the tournament grow in leaps and bounds with the recent sponsorship of premier Sports betting company MerryBet Sports, themselves no stranger to the grassroots terrain. The league which had 12 teams in the inaugural edition has since seen over 29 different teams participate in the competition. With sides like FC Hearts and Suicide Squad becoming champions with the latter on their way to a second consecutive final and possible title victory this season.
The 2021 campaign really took off in early August with the announcement of premier Sports betting company MerryBet Sports as the season’s official sponsor. A press conference would follow suit later that month to usher a new dawn in grassroots development in the city of Abuja. The 2021 season will see 16 teams placed into two groups of 8 – The Capital and Federal Territories – with the side playing each other in a round robin format. The top four sides of each group hence qualify for the next round and a bid to win the title. A total of seven new sides made their debut in the league adding an air of unpredictability and freshness into the season. The opening game of the season saw the defending champions of the league take on Kopa Super Cup Champions Budget FC in a fascinating encounter. The league champions would succumb 1-0 and the next three match days would see a goal fest with a lot of high scoring games in just about every group and would see a good number of marksmen average 3 goals a game.
One of the astonishing matches would see debutants and season's finalists Theo FC annihilate fellow newcomers Faith Football Academy 11-1 on Match Day 2. The outcome would see the academy side concede 43 goals at the end of the group stages and set an unwanted record of being the worst team in league history with most conceded goals. The season has so far seen upheavals and some surprise results along the way, the most notable being the elimination of title favorites Budget FC by the league's dark horses Bojman FC in the quarterfinals in spite of the former signing the top scorer of the latter Ibrahim Shettima in controversial fashion. Bichi FC losing on penalties to Amakson Soccer was also another highlight in spite of The Villa boys touted heavily as match favorites.
The league's defending champions Suicide Squad started the season yet again in slow fashion and matched their record last season by finishing 4th in the group stages scoring 8 goals and letting in 5. However, they have stormed their way to the final by scoring 8 goals in two games and conceding 3. The inclusion of Aliyu Tafeeda during the transfer window and the telepathic understanding between the speedy forward and target man Gulani has given the Champions a renewed vigour going forward and it will be hard seeing anyone denying them a second consecutive title.
Theo FC their opponents in the final eased for the most parts into the final being the highest scoring side in the league this year with 39 goals which does not flatter them a bit. Lead at the front by Attaib Abu Ajmal with 13 goals already, his place as the league's golden boot winner isn't in doubt despite scoring all his goals in the earlier rounds with his closest challengers all knocked out in the quarter finals. Theo FC have been one of the entertaining sides this year and inspite of being minutes away of denied a place in the final by a spirited Amakson Soccer side which had beaten them 3-2 in an earlier Capital Territory fixture. Led by former Super Eagles midfielder Femi Ajilore Amakson Soccer proved to be the surprise team of the season in just their first season in the league. Notwithstanding, Theo FC showed another side of their mentality in their semi final clash this past Sunday by equalsing in normal time with virtually the last kick of the game. A virtuoso 4-2 win in extra time which followed further proved what a worthy contender The All Blacks are for the league title.
November 6th 2021 at the Mediterranean Recreational Centre, Asokoro by 3PM NGA time, will see the End Game of what has been an exciting league season with fireworks guranteed in the match up between Suicide Squad and Theo FC. Off the pitch, partnership between 5Stars Football and MerryBet Sports has seen an immense growth of the league's social media following, organization, visibility as well as perception by the players and fans alike. This combination can only bode well for Nigerian football going forward and give hope for the growth of Futsal in the country, as the impact the latter has had in the grassroots scene this year has been nothing but stratospheric and long may it continue.
Post a Comment