Two highly entertaining novelty football matches were played during the weekend(Sunday, 24th April, 2022) to honour Eche Amos, Media Officer of top-flight Nigerian Football Club, Nasarawa United cum President, Nigeria Professional Football League Media Officers’ Forum, to mark his birthday anniversary celebration.
The carnival-like novelty games between FRIENDS of ECHE and OCEAN UNITED FC(Akwanga) as well as OCEAN UNITED FC versus AGAI FC(Lafia) were held at the Gwangwala Mini Football Pitch, along Akwanga-Abuja Express Road, Akwanga, Nasarawa State, and attended by the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Nasarawa State, Amb. Lucky Isaac Yargwa(Represented by the Covering Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Umar Abubakar); Cletus Edache(Resident Pastor, Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Akwanga); Family members; Friends and Associates of the celebrant, among other personalities.
In the first novelty match played in the afternoon between OCEAN UNITED FC versus AGAI FC, the celebrant, Eche Amos, who featured for OCEAN UNITED, dazzled like a real pro, bringing his playing skills to limelight, including nearly scoring a goal, but the game ended 0-0 apiece.
Before the kick-off of the second match, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development represented by Umar Abubakar, used the occasion to deliver the message of the Ministry and the need to support the Governor Abdullahi Sule Administration to attain its set-goals.

“The celebrant and organizer of this novelty football match, Mr. Eche Amos, who is a very important staff of our Ministry as the Image Maker(PRO) is a highly revered stakeholder in the society who can do more than you can expect.
“He is an all-rounder, intellectually sound, humble to a fault, brave, gifted with leadership qualities and also has the opportunity to be a media person which has added to his vast knowledge of things.
“Indeed, this is a very memorable day in his life, having added a year to his existing years on Earth, which is why you can see this large turnout of people from all walks of life here to celebrate with him; And as a Ministry, knowing his worth, we have equally come to join him and his lovely family as well as other well-wishers to rejoice with him and encourage him to sustain the tempo as the future holds greater things for him.
“Eche has added so much value and relevance to our Ministry that the world knows so much about our activities today because he constantly updates the public about what we do both as a Ministry and Government.
“Aside being a professional in his field, he is also humble and passionate about how he does his work, which gives him an edge over his peers, and we know the best is yet to be seen of him.
“As a Ministry, we will continue to give him all the necessary supports to enable him excel, not just in our Organization but in his future endeavours.
“We wish him more healthy and successful years on Earth.”
Amb. Yargwa disclosed that the novelty matches afforded him the opportunity to discover some raw talents and promised to recommend them to the appropriate bodies for further development.
“I am impressed with the performance of the players, and I must say I have been able to discover a few talented players who should be given opportunity at our State-owned teams to try out their abilities.
“I wrote down their jersey numbers because I don’t know their names and I will contact the celebrant to reach out to them for further action.
“As a Ministry, we are doing our best to identify hidden potentials in our State. The first is the catch-them-young programme at the age-grade level, and secondly through grassroots programmes for all categories of talents.
“Gone are the days when sports or football was seen as reserved for school dropouts. Today, there are people with various academic qualifications who are deeply involved in sporting activities, and they are both earning huge money and earning their living through it.
“So, I urge those of you who have taken this path to be serious about it, work hard, possess good character, and the sky will be your starting point.
“I also want to call on all relevant stakeholders to continue to rally round the Government of Governor Engr. Abdullahi Sule, to be able to take us to where we should be in the comity of great and prospering States.”
At the end of the second novelty football match which ended 2-3 in favour of OCEAN UNITED FC against FRIENDS OF ECHE, the celebrant, Eche Amos, who marked his birthday on 4th April this year, thanked participants and those who supported him in sundry ways for their show of love and solidarity, praying God to reward them accordingly.