Boys have now started rolling up their sleeves as the 19th edition of Chief of Naval Staff U-14 Boys National Soccer Tournament got off to a great start on Monday in Ilorin.

Recall that Admiral Gambo Awwal, the Chief of Naval Staff, represented by Commodore R.

M. Shama, had on Sunday declare the tournament open amid pomp and pageantry.

Earlier on Monday, the host team, Kwara showed class when they pummeled the boys from Bauchi State 7-0 to go top of group A.

While Kano State contingent best was not enough as they lost 2-0 to Osun, Enugu got the fair share of their encounter against the boys from Ekiti with their 2-0 victory in one of the Group B matches.

Edo boys defeated their counterpart from Rivers 2-0 to go top of group C while Nigerian Navy Secondary School also squeezed out a 2-1 victory against the Ondo State boys.

And when the game between Kaduna and Delta States ended 0-0, the lads from Oyo and Nasarawa States also played out a goalless draw in the last match of the day.

Meanwhile, the organisers have announced the replacement of Ogun State by Adamawa in group B, while team Niger have also been removed from group A for failing to show up for the tournament.

The teams will continue their quests for the ultimate prize on Tuesday at the Kwara Football Academy in another round of matches.

For the female category of the tournament, which will hold at the Queen Elizabeth School, Oyo State will battle Benue State at 12 p.

m while Osun State girls who lost 4-0 to Kwara in their opening match on Sunday will take on the female Students of Nigerian Navy Secondary School at 1.15 p.

DAY 3 fixtures (Boys category)
Adamawa vs Kebbi – 11am
Kwara vs Kano – 12pm
Bauchi vs Osun – 12pm
Ekiti vs Kaduna – 1pm
Enugu vs Delta – 1pm
Edo vs Nigerian Navy – 2pm
Rivers vs Ondo – 2pm
Adamawa vs Oyo – 3pm
Kebbi vs Nasarawa – 3pm.

NAN