Heritagenewsng reports it was fun and delight to watch as the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado Ekiti hosted a friendly match involving deaf football players from Ekiti State and their counterparts from Osun state on Friday September 24.
The match decided on Friday saw players of both teams exhibiting real passion and undiluted tenacity as they chased and passed the ball .
The match was witnessed by some officials of the Sports Council headed by the Chairman, Hon. Mrs Olusola Osetoba and Board members of the sports Council, including Hon. Francis Akinlabi (a.k.a Akuba) and Mrs Kehinde Olanipekun
Also in attendance were the General manager of the Sports Council, Mr Kunle Adeyemi and other offciials of the Sports Council.
The match ended 1 nil in favor of Ekiti Deaf Football team .
Addressing the two teams after the match, the sports Council chairman, Mrs Osetoba applauded the team spirit exhibited by the players and their coaches adding rhat rhey did not allow their disability weigh them down nor frustrate them from participating in sports.
She urged them to sustain the spirit for them to enjoy good health and to entrench friendliness among themselves.
She re-echoed the commitment of the state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi towards an all encompassing and all embracing administration which includes people living with disabilities in its agenda.
Mrs Osetoba also acknowledged the pivotal role played by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development towards the empowerment of the youth not minding their challenges stressing that the Commissioner has been an advocate of equal right for all classes of people in the state .
She congratulated the Ekiti Deaf Football team for the hard earned victory while she also promised to keep supporting them when ever the need arises.
The friendly match was put together by the Ekiti State Sports Council in a bid to give members of the Ekiti State Deaf Sports Association a sense of belonging and to showcase the unbias disposition of the Kayode Fayemi administration to people of diverse status.
The chairman Ekiti state Deaf Sports Association, Tonyson Arinze and his vice Ranti Esan appreciated the rare love shown them by the Ekiti State Sports Council while the deputy Youth leader of the Ekiti State Deaf Sports Association, Gideon Awopetu said the experience would stay in their memory for a long time as members have never been given such an opportunity to exhibit their sports potentials in the state.
