Kunle Adelabu
Unlike other football tournaments in Ikorodu where teams will refuse to kick-start matches until the sponsor announces its prize money, Bolowotan Gold Cup has over the time enjoyed the trust of participating club managers and players as they have never been disappointed kick-starting the championship without knowing the offer on the table regarding the prize money for the champions.
One major thing that has been responsible for this is the perception and contributions of the sponsor and the Director – General of the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), Mr Oluwatoyin Gafaar Bolowotan, to sports, especially football, and his usual habit of giving mouth watering and unexpected prize monies to winners and the two runners – up of the Bolowotan Gold Cup, an exemplary tradition and practice which other tournament organisers have failed to measure up to.
Another factor is the fact that the Bolowotan Gold Cup is being organized by the Ikorodu Divisional Football Association (IDFA) and as a result, football clubs are confident in reposing their trust in the association due to its integrity and commitment to the annual football event.
Speaking with reporters on the prizes for the 13th edition of the Bolowotan Gold Cup tournament on Monday, June 14, 2021, during the opening match, Bolowotan said that a strategy to reward more teams and effectively encourage players has been put in place.
He said that prizes will be given to teams that qualify for the quarter final, semi final and the final matches, aside the main prize money that will be given to the winners of the tournament.
“We have our strategy in place going by the intense rivalry among the participating teams to win the tournament”, he said.
“Don’t forget that I just concluded sponsoring a table tennis championship which is national. For qualifying for the quarter – final, you have a certain amount that you are going to get and that is the same thing that we are going to do here.
“By the time we get to the quarter final of this tournament, we are going to give all the teams a certain amount of money and by the time we move into the semi final, the teams that qualify for the stage will get additional amount while the team that eventually emerges as champions will also get double the amount”, Bolowotan assured participating teams.
“The prizes will be evenly distributed unlike the previous practice where the winners take it all. We need to change the narrative and the orientation so that more people will get interested in what we are doing”, he added.
On the request for more teams to participate in the tournament that has been tagged, ‘Ikorodu World Cup’, the sponsor said that organizers of the annual football event will sit down to review and consider the request after this year’s edition.
“We actually have about 50 to 60 teams that wanted to register but we said no and insisted on maintaining the 32 team format and when the scope is bigger and wider, we would consider increasing the participating teams.
“After this year’s edition, we would sit down again and consider the development, though, it’s going to cost us more but it is also going to make the tournament better because it shows that more people are willing to participate and that will make them work harder”, Bolowotan added.
