By Ugo Okoro
Atani Village, on Friday – April 3, 2026 – lifted the maiden trophy of the Ibom Waterfall female football tournament.
The young girls from Atani struck twice on each side of the half to beat their hard-fighting Amannagwu village counterparts 2-1, a feat that earned them the coveted trophy.
In a pulsating match played before a capacity crowd of female football fans at the ASCETA field, Emmanuella Ajunwa drew the first blood when she struck in the 13th minute, to give Atani the lead.
Captain of the Amannagwu side, Uzoma Okereke, netted a goal in the 26th minute to draw her team level.
At the resumption of second half, both teams made efforts to get the winning goal. The decider, however, resulted from a free-kick, which was awarded Atani in the 66th minute.
The Atani goalkeeper, Ezinne Nduka, took the kick and found a well-positioned Emmanuella Ajunwa to slot in her second goal of the match.
At the end of the match, individual awards were presented to deserving players.
Ruth Kanu of Obinkita village received the highest goal scorer award for her feat in netting 6 goals during the tournament.
Chinasa Ukwuenu of Amangwu village emerged the Most Valuable Player (MVP), while Ezinne Nduka of Atani village won the golden gloves as the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
Ezinne Nduka and the entire Atani team conceded only one goal throughout the competition.
Ibom girls were the 3rd place finishers.
The Eze Ogo Atani, Mazi Charles Kanu Okoro, the President General of Atani Welfare Union, Barr Kenneth Ogbonna and other Atani indigenes were present to cheer their team to victory.
Commenting on the tournament, its promoter, Mazi Ijere Kanu said: “It was a good tournament. We have reviewed and taken a lot of positive things out of it. We have also noted areas that require improvement.
“Definitely, it won’t be a one-off tournament,” he added, assuredly.
