By Ado Salisu
The Northwest zonal Coordinator of All Stars international football teams, Dr Abubakar Nuhu Danburan has explained the reason behind the walk-over against Kebbi All Stars in the final of Veterans qualifier ahead of the National All Stars Veterans Cup in Abeokuta, the capital city of Ogun.
The six geographical regions in the country are expected to produce one state each to compete at the national championship scheduled to hold later in the year at the M.K.O. Abiola stadium, Abeokuta, Ogun state to determine the overall winner at the end of the championship.
The championship which is being organized annually aims at cementing the cordial relationship and unity among various regions for Ex-international players who once played for various national football teams.
Danburan who was a former Kano state commissioner of Sports said in an exclusive interview with our reporter that Kano All Stars Football teams walked over their Kebbi state counterpart in the final match for violating the rule and regulations governing the championship.
According to him, the Kebbi side requested the organisers to shift the scheduled final match, a request which is against the rule agreed by the participants.
”The Local Organizing Committee LOC and participating states have agreed on match fixtures from group and final stages of the competition, but Kebbi violated this and requested for a shift of the final match to evening which, according to him, will make the finalists to incur more expenses such as hotel accommodation, feeding among others.
When the organizers asked whether the Kebbi side can shoulder the extra expenses, there was no concrete response from them. They abandoned the final match which has already been fixed for 10am in the morning on Saturday 3, October, 2026,” Danburan, a one-time member of the House of representatives explained.
The Coordinator said that based on the rules and regulations governing the championship, Kano All Stars international football team has qualified to represent the Northwest zonal in the national final in Abeokuta, Ogun state.
The participating states include Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Kano and the hosting state Katsina. Kaduna failed to attend the championship.