BY ANDRE BISYIT
Plateau United Football Club of Jos has narrowly defeated Mighty Jets International Football Club of Jos by a lone goal in the President Federation Cup final held at the Zaria Road Stadium on Sunday.
The only goal of the encounter came courtesy of Kazeem Adeyanju in the 50th minute, a strike that ultimately secured the trophy for Plateau United.
In the women’s category, Mighty Jets female team, popularly known as Mighty Jets Mata, recorded a dominant 3–0 victory over Plateau United Queens to lift the trophy for the first time.
Jemimah Daniel and Beatrice Okoh scored two first-half goals to give Mighty Jets Mata a comfortable lead, while Blessing Swatvel added the third goal to complete the emphatic win.
General Manager of Mighty Jets International, Ferdinand Mbum, expressed satisfaction with the performance of both teams and praised the quality of female football talent in the state.
“There are a lot of talented girls in the state, particularly at the secondary school level,” he said.
He explained that the establishment of the women’s team was part of efforts to promote female participation in sports in line with government directives.
“One of the mandates we got from the Governor when he came on board was to ensure we encourage women participation in sports. That is why we decided to establish the women’s team, and I am very happy it is yielding dividends,” he stated.
Mbum also commended the male team for their determination during the final.
“We expected to see great football today and we saw it. That is important. For now, both teams have qualified for the national finals. What happened today was a novelty. Both teams played good football and showed that they can give the state good representation in the finals,” he added.