By: Eche Amos
Plateau State will represent the North Central Zone at the Super-Four Playoff Tournament in the Maiden Arewa Consultative Forum U-17 Unity Cup Football Tournament in Kaduna, between 20th to 22nd November, 2025.
Plateau defeated Nasarawa State 12-11 in a pulsating marathon penalty shootout session after regulation time had ended 1-1 apiece during the Zonal finale held at the Lafia City Stadium on Sunday morning.
Timothy Akila had put Plateau State in the lead in the 34th minute before Mohammed Goma evened score from the spot three minutes before the interval, with further efforts on goal yielding no result, leading the game to straight spot kicks.
Governor Abdullahi Sule, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Nasarawa State Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, presented the champions’ trophy to the maiden winners.
Baraden Lafia and former Chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum, Musa Liman Kwande, presented consolation prizes to the runners-up team.
Usman Mohammed Maaji and Aliyu Mohammed of Nasarawa State scooped the Most Valuable Player and Best Goalkeeper Awards, while Plateau State’s Abduljabar Musa picked up the Highest Goalscorer gong after ending the tournament with five goals.
Medals of honour and certificates of participation were also presented to key stakeholders who contributed to the successful completion of the zonal tournament.
In his remarks, Governor Abdullahi Sule, congratulated the new zonal champions, urging them to represent the North Central Zone well at the Super-Four Playoff in Kaduna.
He noted that every participant from the Zone was a winner and should work in synergy to achieve success at the grand finale in Kaduna State.
The Governor commended organizers of the tournament and assured of his administration’s sustained support for talent and sports development in Nasarawa State and beyond.
Coordinator of the Arewa Consultative Forum U-17 Unity Cup Football Tournament, Hon. Sadiq Abubakar Sa’adu Fakai, expressed gratitude to Governor Abdullahi Sule and the Nasarawa State Government, particularly the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development led by the Honourable Commissioner, Kwanta Yakubu, for providing a conducive environment for the tournament to hold, pledging to sustain the relationship created, aimed at developing the Northern Region and Nigeria as a whole through sports.
Fakai added that the eventual overall champions will be determined through a Super-Four Playoff in Kaduna State later in November, disclosing that the sum of One Hundred Million Naira(N100,000,000.00) is being proposed by the ACF to aid the development of thirty exceptional talents discovered from the tournament.
Other participants from the North Central Zone were Kogi, Benue, Niger, Kwara, and FCT, Abuja.
