The much-anticipated second season of the Spires 5-Aside Naija Street Soccer Tournament began with plenty of excitement on Sunday. 

This year’s event commenced with a celebrity match, which saw some of Nigeria’s finest skits makers and social media influencers took to pitch to show their football skills. At the end of hostilities, it was Team Pooja who came out tops with a 2-1 victory against Team IBK  at the Stables Sports Centre in Surulere.

The opening matchday further produced plenty of fireworks as New Generation FC and All Saints FC produced an eight goal thriller, which ended with four goals on either side. The second fixture, however, produced a winner as Peckins FA secured a 3-1 win against Olaodus FC in yet another pulsating encounter. 

For the initiator of the tournament, Dr. Bankole Alibay, this year’s event has recorded a great start, and they hope to build on the success going forward.

In his words: ” We are happy there’s a great buzz around the tournament at this time and everyone is talking about it, the sixteen teams are hungry to finish tops in their respective and even go all the way to win the tournament, this is the feeling around this year’s championship and we believe the fans will enjoy it every step of the way”. 

The Environmental Social and Governance expert further reveals plans ahead of a tech week and other seminars for the players.

“This year’s event is special i must tell you, as we speak all is in place for a tech week to run side by side with the tournament. The  players will learn modern skills like artificial intelligence, machine learning, graphics designs as well as computer installation. This knowledge will make them competitive beyond the football space,” Alibay stressed.

The 2025 Spires 5-Aside Naija Street Soccer Tournament, which got on the way on Sunday, October 26th, will come to a close on  Saturday, 15th November.