Lagos, Owerri, Calabar set for Samuel Okwaraji Memoir Cup

Lagos, Owerri and Calabar have been picked to host the Southern Zonal playoffs of the Samuel Okwaraji Foundation national secondary schools football competition, the Memoir Cup.

The matches will be played at the Maracana Stadium, Ajegunle, Lagos, the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri, and the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar. They will cover the South West, South South and South East regions.

The chairman of the organising committee, Senator Osita Izunazo, said the playoffs will run from Tuesday, November 3 to Saturday, November 7, 2026. They are the second stage of the national championship, after the state finals were held across the country earlier in the year.

Izunazo said the three zonal champions from the south will join the three that emerged from the Northern Zonal playoffs for the national finals in Lagos later this month.

The technical partners, the Nigeria School Sport Federation, have said they are ready for the southern playoffs. Its President, Olabisi Joseph, said the transparent systems in place would help the competition achieve its aim of discovering football talents in secondary schools.

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“We have ensured that all the processes and systems in place for this tournament are very thorough, efficient and transparent, and these standards will not drop or be lowered.

“We are ready for the zonal playoffs in the south, and they will be organised with the same standards used for the Northern region. I can assure you that these will also be maintained for the national finals later this month,” Joseph said.

The competition, sponsored by First Bank, is organised in memory of Super Eagles player Samuel Okwaraji. He collapsed and died on August 12, 1989, during a 1990 World Cup qualifier against Angola at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.