By Genesis Ogiri
The OGWUS Youth Empowerment and Community Development Organization (OYECDO) has unveiled two major grassroots football tournaments for 2026, with the initiative aimed at discovering emerging talents, empowering young people and using football to promote peace and community development across the Niger Delta.
The tournaments are the 2026 Upata Unity Football Cup and the 2026 OGWUS Empowerment Cup, Abua/Odual , are expected to bring together football teams and promising young players in a competitive environment designed to promote sporting excellence, teamwork, discipline and community unity.
OYECDO said the tournaments would provide young footballers with an opportunity to showcase their abilities before football stakeholders, scouts and professional clubs, while creating a structured platform for talented players to pursue opportunities within and beyond grassroots football.
The initiative also seeks to use football as a tool for addressing social challenges confronting young people, including unemployment, drug abuse, cultism, kidnapping, oil bunkering and youth restiveness. The organisation said engaging youths positively through sports could help keep them away from destructive activities while encouraging discipline, responsibility and peaceful coexistence.
The 2026 programme builds on the success of the 2025 Upata Unity Cup, which attracted notable personalities from Nigeria’s football, political and traditional institutions. Former Super Eagles Technical Adviser, Austin Eguavoen, performed the ceremonial kick-off, while former Super Eagles star and Rivers United coach, Finidi George, also participated in the tournament.
Other prominent personalities associated with the 2025 edition included Rivers State Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Hon. Richard Ukpeni Ewoh, and the Paramount Ruler of Upata Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Nyudu Dr. Felix Enene Otuwarikpo, PhD.
Founder and sponsor of the tournaments, Eur Ing. Professor Chinedu Ogwus, said investment in grassroots football was essential to developing young talents and building stronger communities.
Professor Ogwus urged football teams and talented players to register for the 2026 competitions, stressing that the tournaments would provide a bigger platform for young footballers to demonstrate their abilities and attract the attention of scouts, professional clubs and other football development stakeholders.
He said the organisation remained committed to creating opportunities through sports, noting that football could serve not only as a pathway to professional careers but also as a powerful instrument for youth empowerment, leadership development and social transformation.
Working in collaboration with the Upata Traditional Council, OYECDO said the tournaments formed part of its broader youth-development agenda, with the organisation calling on corporate bodies, philanthropists, government institutions and development partners to support the initiative.
With registration for the 2026 OGWUS Empowerment Cup underway, OYECDO said it was determined to build on previous successes and create a bigger and more impactful grassroots football platform capable of discovering future stars while promoting unity, discipline and positive community engagement.
