After a week long of scintillating and entertaining football extravaganza at the 2022 Federation of Youth Soccer Clubs (FEYSOC) hosted in Enugu, Lionnaires Football Club (Enugu) were crowned champions of the Under-18 category of the tournament as they edged past Danish FC (Nekede) 2-0.

The competition which featured 49 teams in the Under 13,16 and 18 categories from the south east and south region of the country climaxed over the weekend, at the Ngwo Park Football Field, Uwani.

The first 45 minutes ended in a stalemate as both sides were not clinical in front of goal but on resumption of the second stanza, the Enugu based team became more adventurous, purposeful and incisive.

Ugochukwu Edeh put his side ahead from the penalty spot with less than a quarter of an hour remaining as a Danish FC defender tried to stop the ball inside the penalty area with his hands while Chidalu Onyema sealed the victory deep into stoppage time.

In an exclusive interview with power sports correspondent, the FEYSOC South East and South South Organising Secretary, Ezukeme Anistar hinted that the primary target of the competition was to unearth and nurture talents from different parts of the region into stardom, adding that the major challenge the competition experienced was finance.

Reflecting on whether the competition met the required standard in global football practices, Abdul Rahman Hassan, a Professional football scout based in Abuja, expressed satisfaction with the level participation and the quality of play at the tournament, applauding the organisers for doing a great job.

However, iAkachukwu FC (Aba) carted home the star prize in the Under-13 category as they defeated Young’s Stars (Aba) 4-3 on penalties after both sides ended regulation time at 1-1 while the Under-16 category saw Golden Eagles FC (enugu) claiming the title by defeating Phase One Football Academy (Owerri) also on penalties.