The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Peter Akpe, has expressed satisfaction with the general standard of organization and quality of football on display in the 2026 edition of the Bayelsa Governor’s Cup otherwise called Prosperity Cup.
Akpe gave the passmark while fielding questions from newsmen at the Samson Siasia Stadium in Yenagoa on Thursday, during the halftime break of the third-place match between Mountain of the Lord’s Deliverance Ministry, MLDM, Odi, and Crusaders FC of Peretorugbene.
The deputy governor, who performed the ceremonial kick-off for the match, described Bayelsa as the hub of grassroots football in the country, reiterating that the yearly competition is aimed at harnessing budding football talents as well as dissuade youths away from criminal acts.
According to him, the players featuring in this years edition of the largest grassroots soccer tournament in Nigeria were drawn from all the local government areas of the state.
The Bayelsa number two man expressed confidence that some bright talents discovered from the competition would find their way into big football clubs in the domestic and foreign leagues.
Responding to concerns raised about the dwindling fortunes of Bayelsa United, Akpe assured that proactive steps were being taken to change the narrative of the Prosperity Boys in the Nigerian Football League.
His words: “I think the purpose for which this event is organized is being achieved by my assessment. Through this programme we have discovered great talents and we will continue to discover more and export them to the Nigerian League and the world.
”From what we have seen so far, I think there is very high level of improvement in the tournament. As a state and even at the level of the country, we should take grassroots sports development seriously.
”If you forget the grassroots, that means your investment will yield little or nothing. That is why I commend the organizers of this grassroots tournament for going to all the nooks and crannies of Bayelsa State. ‘
”On the issue of Bayelsa United, I will not divulge our plans and what we are doing about it. I agree with you that it is a challenge to us. But you know that when you have challenges you go back to the drawing board.
”This grassroots event is what we are really going to encourage to see how we are going to put ourselves back in where we have been before. I can assure you that our team will bounce back again.”
At the end of the game, Mountain of the Lord’s Deliverance Ministry (MLDM) FC of Odi beat Crusaders FC of Peretoru 4-3 on penalties after a three all draw in regulation time.
Present at the ceremony were; the chairman , Bayelsa State House of Assembly Committee on Sports, Tare Porri; commissioner for sports development, Daniel Igali, the director general, Bayelsa governor’s football tournament, Mr Ono Akpe, the permanent secretary, ministry of sports development, Mr. Pere Efeke and the director of sports Bayelsa state sports council, Mr. Bibowei Lambert as well as FC Barcelona of Spain scouts, Mr Alberto Lafuente and Bernat Villa Gorriz.
