By Odie Ramon, Yenagoa.
Players and officials of the Bayelsa Queens FC have been charged to be at the top of their game as they set sights once again at winning the 2022-2023 league season and the Super 6 tournament of the Nigerian Female Professional Football League.
Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo gave the charge when he hosted the Yenagoa-based side to a special dinner at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Onopa, Yenagoa on Sunday.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr Doubara Atasi, the Deputy Governor, said as queens of Nigerian and West African football, they should not lower the standard of their game, as the current league season winds down.
He assured the team that on its part, the state government would do everything needful to keep them motivated at all times to enable them win the league and represent Nigeria at the continental level.
The Deputy Governor, who commended the players for their outstanding performance so far in the present season, promised that government would continue to promptly offset their match-winning bonuses and allowances.
He also assured that before the close of the league season, the state government would procure a vehicle for the coaching crew to enhance mobility for their training sessions.
His words:”We are here again to rub minds and to encourage you. We have got to a standard and if we come below that standard, we have failed.
“We are not doing badly, but we also believe that we can do better. So maintain your place at the top to win the League and also win the Super 6.
“Bayelsa Queens, as queens of Nigerian football, queens of West African football, and as second runners-up of African football, we can’t compromise that standard. So anything that is supposed to be done by us, we are going to do.
“Before the season ends, we are going to make a vehicle available to the coaching crew to complement the bus we have. We believe that will make your movements and assignments easier.”
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Dr. Daniel Igali, said the dinner was in fulfilment of the Deputy Governor’s promise to host the team and create an opportunity to interact freely with them.
Also speaking, the Board Chairman of BayelsaQueens, Pastor Robin Apreala, applauded the state government for prioritizing the welfare of the team through prompt payment of salaries and bonuses.
Pastor Apreala who described Bayelsa Queens one of the best motivated teams in the female professional league in the country, promised that the team would go all out to win the Super 6 tournament to make the state proud again.
