By Sedara Philip
The organizers of the Naija Super 8 Tournament have unveiled the names of the 12 teams that will compete in the zonal qualifiers of the tournament.
The unveiling was done in Lagos on Friday and had in attendance the officials of MTN, MoniePoint, DStv, Hero Beer, Pepsi, Flykite Promotions and a representative of the Nigeria Football Federation. There were also Nigeria ex-Internationals: Julius Aghahowa, Ike Shorunmi, Tijani Babangida, Jonathan Akpoboririe and Ezegi.
A total of 41 teams were listed initially, 12 teams eventually made the final cut after weeks of voting from the fans of the clubs.All the selected clubs from each geo-political zone of the country will take on each other at the zonal playoffs scheduled to hold at the Eket Stadium, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
The six best teams at the playoffs will be joined by two wildcard entries to be revealed after the play-offs. The eight teams will participate in the tournament proper at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos from June 17 to 25.
All the matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport. Each team earns N3m per game. The runners-up trophy comes with N9m, while the winner of the NAIJA Super 8 tournament gets N25m. The best player in every match gets N250,000.
The organisers have also assured that 100 fans of each club in the Super 8 will be allowed to come to Lagos for the tournament.
Participating Teams:
North Central
City FC Abuja
Lobi Stars FC
North East
Yobe Stars
Gombe United
North West
Kano Pillars
Katsina United
South East
Enyimba
Heartland
South South
Rivers United
Bendel Insurance
South West
Shooting Stars
Remo Stars
