African Soccer Legends Honour Gov Ambode In Novelty Match

African and Nigerian football legends lit up the Agege Stadium during a novelty match in honour of the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode as he ends his tenure in office.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Habib Haruna, in a statement on Saturday, described the game, which was watched by a full capacity crowd at the stadium as thrilling.

The game had the biggest Nigerian stars coached by Olympic gold medal-winning coach, Bonfere Joe.

The Nigerian legend team had; Jay Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Samson Siasia, Daniel Amokachi, Augustine Eguavoen, Mutiu Adepoju, Emmanuel Amunike, Taribo West, Uche Okechukwu, Garba Lawal, Peter Rufai and Ike Shorunmu.

Others include Finidi George, Victor Ikpeba, Obafemi Martins, Tijani Babangida, Julius Aghahowa and Sam Sodje, while Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shuaibu and Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY, featured in the game.

Meanwhile, The African legend team, coached by former U-17 Golden Eaglets coach, Fanny Amun had the likes of El Hadji Diouf, Diomansy Kamara, Titi Kamara, Christian Karembeu, Stephen Appiah, Didier Zokora, Lomana Lua Lua, Khalilou Fadiga and Seydou Keita.

The game opened with a guard of honour for Governor Ambode by both teams, as he made way to perform the official kick-off for the match.

Kanu Nwankwo opened the scoring in the first half before Titi Kamara equalised for the African legends within a space of two minutes. A fowl in the penalty box by Taribo West on El-Hadji Diouf was converted by Titi Kamara which put the African stars 3-1 at half time.

In the second half, goals from either side ended the game in a thrilling 4-4 draw.

The Governor was also inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Nigeria Supporters Club (NSC) for his unwavering support towards sports development and especially football in Nigeria.

The event was also spiced up by music performances by top Nigerian artistes, including Two Baba, Small Doctor, among others.