Taiwo Awoniyi, a Super Eagles forward, has inked a four-year contract with the organisers of the Kwara Kiddies League, making him the tournament’s principal sponsor beginning with the third season on Saturday (today).
The Kwara Kiddies League, which is organised by the Youth Elite Group in Ilorin, Kwara State, began in 2022 with a U-12 league for state academies.
The Nottingham Forest star’s football programme, Unicorn Football programme, will also participate in the competition, which has now proceeded to the U-14 level for the 2024/25 season.
At a brief signing ceremony in Ilorin on Friday, Awoniyi expressed optimism about the anticipated results of the partnership.
“One of the big benefits for the league is to produce a lot of talents. This platform, we are it up to let them know the steps that will lead them to their dreams and I think this is one of the easiest steps for us,” Awoniyi told journalists during the event
“One of the things I’m trying to do is to bring the connections that I’ve made into Kwara State and for me to bring them, I must show them what I am doing and this is one of them. The financial aspect for me is to sponsor the league with a figure each year throughout the four years and I believe there are more to what we will achieve before and after this period.”
Chief Operating Officer of the league, Ibrahim Jatto also said the sponsorship of the Super Eagles striker is in tandem with the blueprint of YEG.
“We started this in 2022 with an U-12 league and a five-year plan that will see the players graduate every year till they reach U-17, with the hope that they would have played at least 400 matches during the period.
“We have over 600 players in the league and we have all their data on our website,” Jatto added.
For this season, 14 teams will compete for the title with winners of the last two editions, Kwara Football Academy pitted against Koller in the curtain raiser.
