Twelve schools have secured tickets to the national finals of the inaugural Sam Okwaraji Championship, sponsored by FirstBank Plc, after the zonal qualifiers ended across the country’s six geopolitical zones.

The qualifiers gave young talents a platform to showcase their skills, with the participating schools delivering impressive performances at their respective centres.

The Lagos centre featured four states, and Ondo and Ogun emerged as the two teams to advance after impressing against hosts Lagos and Oyo. Ondo won the zone with seven points from three matches and were the only unbeaten team.

Ogun secured the second ticket despite mounting a strong challenge for top spot. They beat Lagos and Oyo and appeared set for a perfect run before meeting an impressive Ondo side in their final game.

The Sunshine State boys produced a determined display to win 2-0, finishing top of the standings and pushing Ogun into second place. Lagos finished third with four points from a win, a draw and a loss, while Oyo ended the campaign at the bottom without a point.

At the South-East centre in Owerri, Imo and Abia claimed the two available tickets. Ezeachi Secondary School, Orlu, Imo State, completed a perfect campaign with a 1-0 win over Ebonyi State’s Estington Academy International School, Orueke, at the Dan Anyiam Stadium. They had earlier beaten Enugu and Abia states to finish with the maximum nine points.

Community Secondary School, Aba, took Abia’s ticket with a 2-1 win over Enugu’s Saint Theresa College, Nsukka, in a decisive final match. The result completed a turnaround for Abia, who had lost 1-0 to eventual group winners Imo in their second game. They had opened their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Estington Academy International School.

At the Calabar centre, which hosted the South-South qualifiers, Delta State emerged champions with 10 points, while Rivers State finished second with seven points to take the two available tickets.

Six schools had earlier qualified for the national finals from the Northern zones.