By Boris Esono Nwenfor
BUEA, Cameroon – The fifth edition of the Wotutu-Ewongo Inter-quarter Football Tournament has kicked off at the Catholic School Field in Wotutu, with a thrilling encounter between defending champions Mami Dinga FC against Crystal FC.
The opening match on Sunday, June 22 which was watched by supporters of both teams, the traditional authority of Wotutu, friends and lovers of football, saw Mami Dinga FC getting the better of the opportunities in the opening minute of the first half. However, their finishing left much to be desired as Mami Dinga FC and Crystal FC ended goalless.
The second half will see chances from either side but the breakthrough was nowhere to be found as Mami Dinga FC and Crystal FC shared a point apiece. James Okani, coach of Mami Dinga FC said: “We won the competition last year and this year we are coming again to try our best. I hope we will continue this year and take the victory.”
“For now, it’s just the first match. My attack line was not too good to penetrate the defender of Crystal FC. In my next match, I will position them very well for me to have victory.”
Organised by Edwin Eselem, a.k.a. EddyBobo, Public Relations and Communication at The Basketball Africa League (BAL), the vision is to use the convening power of sports particularly football to preach peace and uplift the Wotutu-Ewongo community.
He said: “Wotutu-Ewongo has gone far and beyond. You cannot even imagine what this community has gone through. And thanks to everyone here, the organizing committee, the teams, the villages, the traditional rulers, has been a strong pillar of support to this beautiful community.”
Questioned on the innovations of this year, Edwin Eselem said: “Innovations of this year, we are looking at a lot of sponsors as you can see from the backdrop. We have people from the community, for example, the Biaka group who have been supporting us. And now you see that the rising tides are lifting all boats.”
“Stakeholders in our community are seeing the importance of this. It’s not only the chief and the traditional council and the people of Wotutu-Ewongo, but also other people from beyond. You can see the attendance here, people who have come to support us. So I think that’s a great innovation.”
Edwin Eselem added: “The ultimate goal is to have an academy, a football academy or a sports academy in Wotutu where the youth, can be able to benefit from this ecosystem. We have reporters, we have content producers, we have marketing, and we have broadcasting. We are only scratching the surface, so we just need the support of every stakeholder and we’ll make this a very big initiative for this community in years to come.”
The Chief of Ewongo Village HRH Chief Barrister Elive Esimboe said he feels happy to see that the youths in his community fully engaged in the tournament. He said: “I feel very happy to see that the youth of my community are devoted and they find themselves comfortable watching the football tournament, the fifth edition of the Wotutu-Ewongo football championship. I think all glory goes to our illustrious son, Mr. Edwin, who has been doing this wonderful job in our community.
“With activities like this, it shows that we are gradually going out of the crisis. We pray that all the youth should get themselves committed to activities like this to stay out of drugs and concentrate on what will make their future brighter. Once again, we want to thank Mr. Edwin, the brain and the organizer of this tournament, for keeping up, to make our community have this kind of flamboyant ambience.”
HRH Chief Barrister Elive Esimboe added: “We urge them to do fair play. The essence is not to win by all means, but to participate in the competition. On the last day when we will be doing the finals, the trophy goes to the youth. I think I give glory to their commitment and fair play rather than winning by other mischievous means.”
So far, ten teams have signalled their presence for the fifth edition with more expected in the days ahead. On June 25, Ndobe Hill FC will face off against Nso FC while Ngokes FC welcomes Progressive Youths FC on June 29. Matchday one will continue on June 29 with Fearless Brothers against Bonjongo All-Stars.
