Dokubo-Asari’s KASA Wins Samuel Okwaraji U-16 Football Championship, Sets Sights on Global Stage

The boys’ football team of King Amachree Sports Academy (KASA), Obuama, sponsored by Da Amakiri Tubo, Alhaji Mujahid Abubakr Dokubo-Asari, Amanyanabo of The Source, Elem Kalabari, Torusarama Piri, has emerged champions of the Samuel Okwaraji Under-16 Football Tournament, defeating St. Peter’s Secondary School 1-0 in a thrilling final played in Port Harcourt.

The winning goal came from Michael Unity, whose clinical finish sealed a hard-fought victory and crowned KASA champions of one of Rivers State’s most prestigious youth football competitions.

To reach the final, the Obuama-based academy produced an impressive performance against Perfect Brain Secondary School, recording a convincing 3-1 victory to book a place in the championship match. Throughout the tournament, the KASA boys displayed tactical discipline, teamwork and resilience, qualities that have increasingly become the hallmark of the Academy’s sporting philosophy.

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The Samuel Okwaraji Under-16 Football Tournament is organised in honour of the late Nigerian international, Samuel Okwaraji, who tragically collapsed and died while playing for the Super Eagles during a FIFA World Cup qualifying match at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos. Today, the competition stands as a tribute to his patriotism and commitment to Nigerian football while providing a platform for discovering the next generation of football stars.

For King Amachree Sports Academy, the latest triumph is another milestone in what has become a remarkable rise in Nigerian school sports.

Only recently, the Academy’s basketball team captured national attention by winning the 26th Nestlé MILO Secondary Schools Basketball Championship, defeating defending champions Father O’Connell Science College, Minna, to claim the coveted national title after years of coming agonisingly close. Having finished as first and second runners-up on four previous occasions, the victory marked a historic breakthrough for the Academy and came with a prize of ₦1 million.

Winning national honours in basketball and now emerging champions in football within the same period is no coincidence. Rather, it reflects the deliberate vision of the Academy’s Proprietor, Da Amakiri Tubo, Alhaji Mujahid Abubakr Dokubo-Asari, whose commitment to youth development through education and sports continues to transform lives.

Reacting to the football victory, the Amanyanabo expressed immense delight, describing the achievement as a validation of the substantial investments made in developing the Academy.

“This victory gladdens my heart. It justifies the enormous investment I have made in the school. These young boys have shown that with the right environment, discipline and encouragement, they can compete with the very best.

Their success inspires me to do even more for the upliftment of our youths. I congratulate the players, the coaching crew and everyone who has contributed to this remarkable achievement.”

Determined that these victories should become the beginning of a sustained culture of excellence rather than isolated achievements, Dokubo-Asari has taken another bold step by approving a landmark five-year strategic partnership between King Amachree Sports Academy and EEXSport Digital Company Limited.

The partnership places the future development of the Academy in the hands of one of Nigeria’s most accomplished sports professionals, Emeka Enyadike, a respected sports broadcaster, football analyst, publisher, club administrator, sports marketing expert and international sports consultant.

With a distinguished career spanning more than three decades, Enyadike has become one of Africa’s leading authorities on sports business and athlete development.

Through EEXSport, he has successfully developed strategic partnerships in sports management, sponsorship, media, commercial development and international player pathways, earning the confidence of sports institutions across Nigeria.

Under the five-year transformation programme, EEXSport will provide technical management, sports science, educational enhancement, commercial development, sponsorship acquisition and international partnerships while introducing global best practices into every aspect of the Academy’s operations.

A major feature of the agreement is the creation of an International Athlete Pathways Programme, designed to identify exceptional talents within KASA and provide them with opportunities to participate in international showcases, European training camps, scholarship programmes and professional club placements.

The Academy will also strengthen its programmes in football, basketball, athletics, swimming, volleyball, handball and tennis while integrating leadership development, digital skills and academic excellence through its “Play, Study and Progress” philosophy.

For Da Amakiri Tubo, the vision extends beyond winning trophies. His ambition is to build one of Africa’s finest sports and education institutions—an academy where talented young Nigerians can receive a quality education, develop their sporting abilities and compete confidently on the global stage.

The victories in the MILO National Basketball Championship and the Samuel Okwaraji Under-16 Football Tournament suggest that this vision is already taking shape. With the EEXSport partnership now in place, King Amachree Sports Academy appears poised to move from producing champions in Nigeria to nurturing athletes capable of excelling on the international stage.

By: Al Humphrey Onyanabo