BY Kingsley Komla Adom
Winners of the 2014 Barracks Football league - Vilas Football Club from Labadi Vilas have emerged victorious in the Champions of Champions cup after beating Top Four tournament winners,Icons Football Club of 5BN Barracks 3-2 on penalties on Sunday 8 March 2015,at the Nicholson Stadium - Burma Camp in Accra.
The game between the two teams which was a curtain-raiser to usher in the 2015 edition of the Barracks Football League scheduled for 14 March to 6 September 2015,brought together participating teams in the new league championship season from twelve barracks,patrons,officers,men and women of the Ghana Armed Forces,and the media,
It also served an opportunity for organizers to award outstanding individuals who excelled in the 2014 league season.In all,four individual awards were presented with Vilas FC's Razak Bandy winning the best player of the season gong.
Other awardees included Sakasaka FC's Mark Frimpong whose seventeen goals throughout the season won him the top scorer accolade,while referee J.K Mortey emerged best official.
Losing finalist of the Champions of Champions cup match Issaka Fuseini of Icons FC scooped the man-of-the-match award on the day after a brilliant showing at the showpiece.
The game between Vilas FC and Icons FC was scoreless after full-time and needed a penalty shootout to separate the two sides.
MATCH REPORT
Both teams adopted a cautious approach to the game,as they played tentatively until about half an hour,when the game came to life.A combination of some fluid passage of play and individual skill sent the fans into cheers,and only some excellent piece of defending by the Icons back line kept the score at 0-0 on thirty two minutes.
Vilas FC's Razak Bandy came within inches of the opener after creating space for himself twice to shoot from tight angles.Icons grew into the game from that point bossing possession and fashioning attacks of their own as the game wore on.
The final twenty minutes of the game saw some end-to-end action with both teams creating scoring opportunities but lacking composure in the final third,and finished scoreless after 90 minutes.
Vilas FC's goalkeeper Lambert during the penalty shootout showed clean pair of hands to save two spot kicks from Icons FC to win the trophy for his team 3-2 on penalties.
Captain of the side,Asamoah who expertly tucked home the final kick,was visibly excited at the cup triumph and attributed the success of the team to constant hard work,dedication and focus.
He said he has been working on his penalty-taking ability for a very long time,and once he was to take the glory kick,he knew it was going in.
He added that his team is looking to retain the championship in the coming season,but admits it would certainly not be an easy test.
The first and second seasons of the Barracks football League were organized in 2013 and 2014 with eight teams from Gondar barracks,5 Battalion of Infantry barracks,Base Workshop barracks,and 1 MT barracks all of Burma Camp.
The rest were from 37 Military Hospital barracks,37 Band line barracks,Labadi Vilas barracks and LA.
This year's edition however will see the number of teams increase to twelve,an indication of the interest the league is generating.Four other teams from El Wak barracks,Teshie MATS barracks,Air Force barracks and 37 Police mobile force barracks will be participating in the six-month-long football league season this year.
However,one challenge organizers are having to contend with is,the issue of sponsorship.Since it's inception two years ago,organizers have had to dig deep into individual pockets to keep the championship thriving ,and with the increase of participating teams,the burden is set to become even more cumbersome.
It is in this light that organizers are appealing to corporate Ghana and individuals to come on board to sponsor the league which has already unearthed a number of excellent talents for Kumasi Asante Kotoko and other clubs in the country.
They are of the view that adequate resources and sponsorship will push the barracks football league to greater heights and bring many more youths in the various barracks together to harness and develop their football potentials .
Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Armed Forces,Lieutenant colonel Aggrey Quarshie who was at the game,commended organizers of the league for the laudable initiative of coming up with such an exercise which will not only produce talents to feed into the national teams and the traditional clubs in the country,but will also keep the young soldiers and children from the barracks physically and mentally fit.
He said one other objective of the championship is to build esprit de corps among the various barracks.
He further called for support from all quarters in order to keep the football league running for a long time,so as to prevent the youth in the barracks from wasting their talents and engaging in all forms of vices
"We call on the National Sports Authority to turn its attention towards the barracks league,especially when individuals and groups are trying to keep up the spirit of mobilizing the youth to unearth very good talents to feed into our national teams," he noted.
Forces Sergeant Major of the Ghana Armed Forces - Chief Warrant Officer Owusu Dickson who officially opened the champions of champions match with the ceremonial centre kick-off,shared similar thoughts about the league.
He was of the view that shaping the qualities of players in the barracks football league in order that they get contracts from some of the big clubs in Ghana,will require financial support as well as support by way of sporting equipment and kits from individuals and companies.
Aside from producing individual football players,he mentioned that the league also serves as a source of entertainment for the Burma Camp community,which is also an essential in life.
The Barracks Football league is an initiative of a young officer,and aims to among other things,help develop the interests of the youth in sports,unearth football talents,prevent the youth from indulging in social vices,serve as a source of entertainment and promote good health among the youth in the barracks community.
It also provides a platform for companies and corporate bodies to advertise their products and services to the barracks community and give them the mileage they require to put their services out there.
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