Upper Muea Chiefdom: Chief Edward Molinge uses sports to boost back-to-school, living together….

The positive gains of the tourney, tagged: “King Edward’s Cup”, took place at St. Andrew’s Catholic School Field in Muea, on Saturday August 17, 2024. 

During the event, HRM Edward Molinge, called on the people of Upper Muea in particular and Muea Court Area in general to embrace living together. 

The competition which lasted for over a month, recorded the participation of teams from various villages that make-up the Muea Court Area and all the quarters in the Upper Muea Chiefdom. 

The final match pitted the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs Football Team from Ekona against Quarter 9. 

After a one-all draw in regular playing time, the boys from Ekona emerged victorious through penalties shootout after several misses from Quarter 9.

The road to the final was a tough one for both finalists. The winners emerged victorious in the quarterfinals through penalties shootout.

Quarter 9 went through to the finals through penalties as well but were defeated through penalties at the final. The competition from the first match to the last game attracted hundreds of football lovers and fans who enjoyed every bit of the tournament. 

While appreciating the population for their massive turnout, Chief Edward Molinge encouraged them to continue in the spirit of brotherhood in their various quarters. He challenged the victorious team to prepare better for next year’s games. 

“…the victorious team has done everything to deserve the trophy. So, I tell them massive congratulations and challenge them to go back and work hard because next year the competition will be tougher,” he said. 

While congratulating the winning team, Chief Edward Molinge encouraged the runners-up and other teams that participated in the competition. 

The traditional ruler equally charged them to start preparing for next year’s edition of the tournament. He saluted all the players, fans and football lovers for their professionalism throughout the competition. 

Such show of maturity, the Royal father of Upper Muea Chiefdom said, is the reason there were no hitches throughout the tournament.

Goal of tourney is peace, dev’t

Speaking to the press, Chief Edward Molinge reiterated that the goal of the annual tournament is “to enhance peace and development within the community”. 

He promised to continue to work with key stakeholders to improve on every aspect of the competition as the years go by.

Some students who participated in the competition, be they as spectators or players, also received back-to-school materials like books, pens and other items. The traditional ruler said the goal is to ease the pressure on parents ahead of the new school year.

In this light, he re-echoed his call for all children in Upper Muea and the Muea Court Area to return to school. This, he said, is necessary to ensure a bright future for themselves and their communities. 

“…now that the holidays are almost over, I am encouraging the students to pick up their pens, books, pencils and bags and go back to school because education is the key,” HRM Edward Molinge stated.

Team leaders speak

Speaking to the press after winning the trophy in the junior category, the captain of Quarter 2, Anang Francis, said their victory was against all odds. After qualifying as the best losers, he said emerging champions was thanks to the spirit of unity and team spirit within the entire team.

For his part, the captain of IDP Ekona, expressed joy that his team also emerged champions after many difficulties. This is the second trophy that the team has won since the competition, after they lost the final through penalties in 2022.

The winners and runners-up in both categories took home cash and other material prizes. The winners in the senior category took home 1.5 million FCFA, while the runners-up had 500,000 FCFA. 

In the junior category, the winners had 300,000 FCFA while the runners-up had 200,000 FCFA. Other individual and team prizes included awards for: Best Player, Highest Goal Scorer, Best Goalkeeper, Best Fair Play Team and Best Disciplined team. 

To note that most of the prizes were in both junior and senior categories except for the Youngest Player in the senior category.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3203 of Monday August 19, 2024