Valco Soccer Tournament

Young Ghanaian footballers will get the chance to shine in this year's Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) Soccer Tournament for Senior Secondary Schools, with the event being billed as bigger and better than ever before.

A total of 24 teams will take part, divided equally between the Northern and Southern Sectors.

The top 3 teams from the two sectors will go through to the Grand Finale, where last year Aggrey Memorial were crowned champions.

The Northern Sector gets under way in Kumasi on Monday 8 April and the Southern Sector will kick off in Accra on 28 April.

The details were announced by VALCO director Dr Charles Mensah and Dr Kzokoto from the Ministry of Education, at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday.

The sponsorship deal is worth ?100 million for the regional stages, and represents VALCO's fifth year of involvement in the tournament.

An as yet undisclosed sum will be allocated for the Grand Finale, to take place in Accra.

Ghanaian Academicals will also be on show, as a selection procedure whittles down 50 players to the team that will represent the country against Nigeria and, for the first time, Togo.

Both Dr Mensah and Dr Kzokoto expressed their desire to see the Ghanaians exact revenge for their home and away defeats to Nigeria last year.

Dr. Mensah emphasised VALCO's commitment to showing goodwill to the people of Ghana.

He said that preparing the youngsters of today for success in the future was a priority for the company.