AAUA Luminaries

 

Football

 

The race for a place in the finals of the ongoing Higher Institutions Football League (HiFL) kicked off to an interesting start in Nsukka where the AAUA Luminaries from the Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba held the UNN Lions of the University of Nigeria to a 1-1 draw.

 

 

The visitors led by Coach Joseph Abuo showed their intentions early in the match when the team scored the first goal in the 11th minute through Ayomide Akinlosotu. The goal stunned Coach Ike Chijoke led Lions as they pressed for an equalizer. In the 22nd minute, Chinegwu Obinna equalized for the team following some sleek passes. However, the Lions were limited to long-range shots as the Akungba boys showed their resilience in defence knowing that an away goal will put them in good standing for qualification into the finals. Stanbic Man-of-the-Match Destiny Onukafor of the Lions maintained that his team may be down but not out promising that the Lions will re-strategize as they seek to get the desired result when they play the return leg in Akungba.

 

 

Excited at the level of competition and sportsmanship in the league, Beiersdorf’s Managing Director, Nigeria, Mr Godwin Harrison said, “Nivea Men is thrilled to come on board as HiFL's Official Men’s Grooming Partner in 2021. The partnership will enable us to support the nurturing of football talents among Nigerian youth while connecting with our young future consumers through a sport the whole country is passionate about.”

 

 

In her comment, the Brand Manager, Minimie, Monica Jaiswal said “this is an opportunity for us at Minimie to appreciate what HiFL is doing by allowing our youths to express themselves. We see it as a great idea that needed to be supported to grow, hence our involvement in HiFL”.

 

 

Meanwhile, in the game played at the University of Maiduguri Sports Complex, the UNIMAID Desert Warriors defeated the FUTMinna Transformers by 1-0. The keenly contested game saw both sides cancelling themselves out at every move before Stanbic Man-of-the-Match Bukar David scored the only goal of the match in the 78th minute. It would be recalled that Coach Dauda Daniel led Desert Warriors ousted the 2018 champions UAM Tillers through 3-1 goals aggregate scoreline. 

 

 

HiFL is organized by PACE Sports in partnership with the Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA).