The Eye Newspaper: Chelsea of Njap Wins HRH Fon Stanley Tumi's Unity Cup

HRH Fon Stanley handing the trophy to winners

At about 3pm, the sounds of vuvuzelas echoed into the lowlands of Njap, down to Ngie, Wejeng and up the hills of Ntalih as thousands gathered at Government School Njap to cheer the finalists of the 1^st Edition of Njap Unity. There was euphoria when the referee, Budi Aaron gave the blast of the whistle for the match kick-off. Barely 32 seconds into the match, Chelsea FC of Njap after two touches of the ball sent a missile directly into the net. Singing and dancing took the centre stage. Supporters of Chelsea invaded the playground with joy. The match halted for few minutes as the players were almost buried in the crowd. Those who took the pains from far off areas like Nfiegong, Chinna and Ngong to be part of the soccer final could be seen rushing into the field.

The first half ended with Chelsea having an edge over their counterparts by one goal to zero. Hostilities resumed after the first half as Ajax tried to equalize but the goalkeeper of Ajax could not allow the ball into his net. At about 14 minutes to the end of the match, the goalkeeper of Ajax of Ngie-ku was sent off guard for a second goal. When the referee finally took the ball into his ambit after the 90 minutes were exhausted, the story was Chelsea 2, Ajax 0.

Before handing the trophies to the captains of both the male and female champions of the Njap Unity Cup, 2015 edition, the Fon of Njap, His Royal Highness Chifu Stanley Tumi promised youths that the tournament has come to stay. He called on the youths to be agents of development and not destruction given that sport is to entertain, not vice versa. HRH Chifu Stanley Tumi equally used the opportunity to caution the youths on bad manners and enjoined them to report anyone suspicious person in their midst. He thanked Oliver Awudu alias Abega for the timely support adding that Oliver Awudu donated 8 sets of jerseys, balls and other logistics for the tournament. He also called on all the other youths to emulate the example of Oliver who has decided to join the palace in promoting grassroot football. On the other hand, the Fon of Njap congratulated the organizing committee and the executive of NJAPDECA for being part of the village animation. He said being a youth himself, he would spare no efforts to foster development and if the youths work with him, Njap will surely emerge before 2035.Education, the Fon of Njap added is the backbone of any future generation reasons why he called on the parents to send their children to school as schools reopen Monday September 7, 2015.

Talking to this reporter at the end of the male and female finals, Awudu Oliver disclosed that he has already spotted one talented young player with whom he will work. He said as a former soccer player, he would love to promote grassroot football both male and female reasons why he supported the Fon’s effort. Oliver’s efforts are also geared at reviving the Division III side, Monaco of Njap which sank into the doldrums some years ago. He sounded optimistic that the soccer nursery is rich and just needed a small push to excel. When quizzed whether his involvement in promoting grassroot football had no political undertone, Oliver discarded the allegations adding that though from a political family, he thinks you deserve to be entertained during holidays.

It should be recalled that the female final between Ngie FC and Ngie-ku FC ended in penalty shoots. At the end of the day, Ngie FC won the female trophy with a lumpsum cash.