A colourful finale in Uyo, fittingly held on William Troost-Ekong’s birthday, crowned two new secondary school football champions in Akwa Ibom State.
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Etinan Institute and Community Secondary School, Aka Offot, have been crowned champions of the Troost-Ekong Foundation Secondary Schools Football Tournament, winning the boys’ and girls’ finals respectively in Uyo on Tuesday.
The grand finale coincided with the 33rd birthday of former Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong, and brought together schools, football officials, government representatives, parents and other stakeholders.
Back-To-Back For Aka Offot
In the girls’ final, Community Secondary School, Aka Offot, put in an impressive performance to beat Methodist Secondary School, Ibiaku Ishiet, 5-0, successfully defending the title they won in 2025 for a second straight triumph. In the boys’ final, Etinan Institute edged St Brian Model College 1-0 to claim the title.
Investing In The Next Generation
The competition is organised by the Akwa Ibom State Football Association in partnership with the Troost-Ekong Foundation. Champions received trophies, medals and cash prizes, with runners-up awarded medals and cash prizes of their own, alongside individual honours for best player, best goalkeeper and top scorer in each category. All four finalists, along with every participating school, also received sports equipment from the Foundation as part of its wider grassroots development support.
Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Elder Paul Bassey, served as Special Guest of Honour and said the state government fully backed the tournament, praising Troost-Ekong’s achievements in football and his efforts to give back through the Foundation. He said the government hopes one of the young players in this year’s competition will go on to become a football star.
A Partnership Set To Continue
Troost-Ekong Foundation coordinator Bernard Ekong thanked the state government and all participating schools, and said the partnership with the Akwa Ibom State Football Association would continue to grow young players’ opportunities in the sport. Akwa Ibom State Football Association chairman Samuel Umoh reaffirmed his board’s commitment to sustaining initiatives aimed at discovering and developing young football talent across the state.
