Togo FC Promostars Win The Third  OMA/Yinson Future Stars Football Festival

OMA Ghana Limited, under the auspices of the OMA Group, Yinson Production and Ipswich Town Football Club Academy UK, hosted the pupils of five Tema schools to a pulsating festival of football at the Tema sports complex on Saturday September 24, 2016.

The event included a special guest appearance by FC Promostars from Togo and participation by the Togo Football Association – in the person of international referee, Mrs Xonam Toure - Agboyi.

Thanks to a late goal in the final match against defending champions, Community 7 Primary School, FC Promostars qualified for the finals and went on to win the Third Futurestars Football Festival.

The Captain of FC Promostars was presented with the winners’ cup by the Country Manager of OMA Togo, Rupert Rossi, and by Titus Bramble, the former EPL Player. Each team member received medals from Sam Edmund, OMA Group Director and Simon Milton, Director of Academy Sales at Ipswich Town Football Club.

The Manager of the winning team, received an invitation to the UK to visit the Ipswich Town Football Academy, from Gary Miller, the OMA Group Managing Director.

The Community 7 Team players who looked exhausted, still managed a smile and put on brave face, and received hand bands and autographed player cards from Titus Bramble. The four remaining teams were also given hand bands and autographed player cards.

The climax of the four hour event was an exhibition game between the Futurestars Development Centre Team and FC Promostars.

The opening games of the festival featured FC Promoters and Community 8 Primary School, with the latter winning by one goal, while Baatsona Primary School recorded their first goal in the tournament by beating Twedaase Primary School by a similar margin.

In a side attraction game, OMA & Yinson Staff were for the second year running, defeated by OMA & Yinson Managers by a lone goal, scored in the second half of the game, even though the side was beefed up by guest player, Titus Bramble.

Mr Francesco Leuzzi, Country Manager, OMA Ghana, in his introductory remarks said the OMA Group & Yinson were very happy to support the five schools in Tema and in turn “enjoyed reciprocal support from the schools”.

Mr Abraham Fletcher, who represented the Tema Metropolitan Education Office, and stakeholders of the project, congratulated the OMA Group and Yinson for adopting a strategy that had facilitated the rehabilitation of the Metro Office as well as a number of schools, leading to the provision of water closets, washrooms and the painting and renovation of structures at the schools.

Ms Carine Noukpo, OMA Group Director, kicked off the festival amidst a jubilant crowd with masquerades’ and a brass band, who provided entertainment for all those in attendance. The festival also attracted OMA representatives from Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast and a team from the UK.

The project has benefited from joint funding thanks to the generosity of Yinson and OMA and has evolved into a sustainable programme with the five schools in Tema. The sponsors have set themselves the objective to use the medium of sports to support education whilst promoting and instilling discipline amongst school pupils at an early stage in their development. The programme currently is potentially influencing over 2500 children.

OMA Ghana has employed two coaches, who visit each school every week to deliver football coaching and work with the schools’ PE teachers to help them deliver a full range of sports activities for boys and girls. Titus Bramble, has been engaged for a month to facilitate progress.

Stage two of the project involved the creation of a football development centre for players identified as showing exceptional promise and also to introduce the game of netball in the schools to engage more females in sport.