ASDI Academy emerged champions of the Ikeja Division of the Spires 5-Aside Naija Street Soccer Tournament after an emphatic 7-4 victory over Wasola Football Club in an entertaining final at the EL Cesped Pitch, Opebi, Ikeja, on Saturday.
Coached by Richard Moses, ASDI Academy produced a clinical attacking display to outscore their opponents in a pulsating encounter, securing the divisional title and the top prize of ₦500,000.
Wasola FC, who finished as runners-up, received ₦300,000, while Blood and Sand Football Club claimed third place and a cash prize of ₦100,000 after thrashing Zion FC 8-1 in a one-sided third-place play-off.
The dominant victory also saw Blood and Sand’s Elijah Imole emerge as the tournament’s highest goalscorer. He finished with six goals to claim the Golden Boot award and an additional ₦50,000 prize.
The top three teams—ASDI Academy, Wasola FC and Blood and Sand FC—have all secured qualification for the Lagos State Championship, scheduled to take place in November.
Speaking after the successful conclusion of the Ikeja qualifiers, the initiator of the tournament, Dr Bankole Allibay, expressed satisfaction with the standard of competition across all the divisional championships.
The Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) expert said the organisers had achieved their objective of delivering a high-quality grassroots football competition across Lagos State.
“I believe we were able to tick all the boxes across the five divisions. We set out to organise top-class divisional qualifiers, and we have successfully achieved that,” Allibay said.
He added that attention has now shifted to the state finals, where the best teams from the divisional competitions will battle for the overall title.
“Our focus is now on the state championship in November. We have our 16 finalists from across the five divisions of Lagos, so football fans should expect a top-class event in the third season of the Spires 5-Aside Naija Street Soccer Tournament,” he added.
The completion of the Ikeja qualifiers marks the end of a successful qualifying series, which also covered Ikorodu, Epe, Lagos Island and Badagry.
With the divisional phase now concluded, organisers have confirmed that all is set for what promises to be a highly competitive third edition of the Spires 5-Aside Naija Street Soccer Lagos State Championship, where the 16 qualified teams will compete for ultimate honours later this year.
