Renowned UEFA referee Damir Skomina, who was in Uyo for the Ibom Football Scouting Tournament along with the co-organisers of the project Leon Sport International, have commended the sponsor, Senator Bassey Albert for his commitment to sports development in Akwa Ibom State.
The Slovenian Skomina referee now retired is remembered for disallowing a goal by Ajax in the UEFA Champions League in a first ever use of VAR in the competition. Along with his scouting accomplices in their Uyo project, he expressed delight at the quality of talents they observed through the tournament in Uyo.
“The competitions have gone on smoothly from Monday, November 14, when we started. I can say that that so far, we are quite impressed with the talents seen of the young players” Skomina said.
Co-organisers of the scouting programme, Leon Academy was founded by Sir Jude Asekhameh as a humanitarian organisation to keep young talented Nigerians from social vices by discovering, training and engaging their sporting talents productively through grassroots football development. The academy has an Under 20s academy in Lagos and their Under 16s academy in Port Harcourt.
Speaking on behalf of the scouts, the administrative Manager of Leon Academy International, Mr. Ogbeide Endurance explained that the Uyo tournament was part of the academy’s annual scouting competition series which began in Lagos in 2021. Funded by Senator Bassey Albert, the Uyo edition was organised in conjuction with OBA Youth Initiative to scout the South-South/South-East part of Nigeria. according to Mr. Ogbeide, the finances for the just concluded Uyo edition were provided by Obong Bassey Albert, who “…wants to expose the youths of the state to bigger opportunities”, he said.
The tournament held within the OBA Multipurpose Sports Complex, in Uyo, built and maintained by the Senator representing Uyo Senatorial District, Obong Bassey Albert, popularly known in Akwa Ibom as OBA. Participating teams came in from smaller academies in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia and Enugu, fielding a total of 500 players aged 16 to 19 who played to showcase their talents and get a chance to be signed out to European clubs. It ended on November 20.
