All is now set for the kickoff of the 2nd season of one of Africa’s most talked about grassroots league, United Football Championship (UFC).
The league, which kicks off Saturday May 18 at the Legacy pitch inside the Mainbowl of the National stadium, Surulere, Lagos, will feature last season’s runner up, Box 2 Box FC as they do battle with Starbase FC in the opening fixture of the season.
The game promises a lot of spectacle, glitz, glamour, razzmatazz and fireworks given the pedigree of the teams and quality of football the league offers.
Unlike last season where there were 22 teams that featured in the league, organizers in a bid to reposition the league for the best, decided to prune down the number of teams to 14 for more efficiency.
The league’s Chairman, Emmanuel Udeogu provided more insights on why they took such a hard stand this season despite countless number of teams scrambling to be part of the league.
“It may interest to know that 22 teams featured in the league last season, but after much deliberations and considerations we have decided to reduce the number of teams from 22 to 14.
“This is strategic and deliberate because we want the league to be better in every sense of the word.
“Many of the teams that participated last season were shut out because we needed to raise the bar and they couldn’t meet up with the new standards.
“We couldn’t have compromised our standards at the altar of trying to accommodate everyone to avoid turning the league into a child’s play or an all comers affair.
“We have a brand which we need to protect and guard jealously”, he concluded.
The 14 participating teams this season are: Glorious Day FA, Box 2 Box FC, Starbase FC, Dominion Hotspur FC, FC Bethel Sporting, Charlesann FC, others are Spartans FC, G12 FC, De Elite FC, De Pros FC, Jumez FC, R2Finesse FC, L mirado FC and Goshen FC.