LOC Chairman, Effiom Effiwatt (5th right) flanked by Talabi Okey Cross River FA Secretary (4th right) and local government coordinators at the briefing recently.
By Kelvin Obambon
The Standard Unity Football Tournament, otherwise known as the Suki Unity Cup, has been officially launched by the group, Standard Ambassadors.
This is an initiative also referred to as the Suki Ambassadors, with the twin objectives of fostering unity and rallying youths support for national and state leaders.
Speaking at a press conference announcing the competition in Calabar recently, Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), Effiom Effiwatt, outlined the competition’s mandate, emphasizing its connection to the current political dispensation.
“We believe that we can use this tournament to rally all the young people in the southern senatorial district behind our leaders, the President of the Federation, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Governor of Cross River State, His Excellency, Prince Bassey Edet Otu, and indeed the Senator of the southern senatorial district, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong,” Effiwatt stated.
He further clarified the tournament’s origin, stating that “For the benefit of doubt, this conversation is not put together by the senator, but by people who are in the sphere of his influence, his friends, his associates, his staff. They’ve thought it fit to come together and do something for the unity of our youths in the senatorial district.”
The Standard Unity Cup is scheduled to commence on Saturday, December 13, 2025, and is organized to include seven local government areas (LGAs) of Cross River South; Akamkpa, Biase, Odukpani, Calabar Municipality, Calabar South, Akpabuyo, and Bakassi.
To ensure an even number for the knockout format, the organizers introduced an eighth team, the “Seven Alive” Unity Team, resonating with the competition’s motto: “kicking together, winning together.”
“The tournament will feature initial play-offs for Akamkpa and Calabar South LGAs, which have two constituencies each, to determine their final representatives. All matches will be played on a strict knockout basis at neutral venues to guarantee a level playing field. We don’t want to give any team the advantage of playing at home. So, everybody would have an equal chance to proceed to the next level,” Effiwatt explained.
The LOC Chairman appealed to all participating teams to maintain “a very high level of discipline and decorum,” ensuring the tournament crowns a winner based on “hard work, from due diligence, and by playing by the rules.”
Reinforcing the commitment to fairness and professionalism, the Secretary of the Cross River Football Association, Talabi Okey, confirmed that the competition would utilize graded referees. Okey assured the media that “all the 17 laws of FIFA, including the law 18 which is common sense, would be applied in the competition.”
He specifically urged all the participating teams, their technical and backroom staff to exhibit high level of discipline and good knowledge of football rules and regulations in order to eliminate any incident of violence before, during and after the competition.
