Diabugu Batapa village in the Sandu District of Upper River Region were on Sunday crowned champions of the European Union sponsored Access to Justice Noran football tournament. The competition was organised by the National Council for Civic Education (NCCE).
The tournament, which was the last phase of the EU Access to Justice football tournaments, saw the participation of four village teams within the Sandu District namely, Diabugu Batapa FC, Misira FC, Sare Demba Toro FC and Kuraw Arfang FC.
The first phase of the noran tournament started in Brikama of the West Coast Region (WCR) and later Kwinella in Lower River Region (LRR).
The final was hosted at Kuraw Arfang Lower Basic School between Diabugu Batapa and the hosts.
Diabugu Batapa FC’s Muhammed Batchilly scored his team’s lone goal in the 36th minute of the second half.
As champions, Diabugu Batapa FC received D15, 000 with a giant trophy and a football, while runners-up Kuraw Arfang FC pocketed home a consolation prize of D7, 000 and a football. The two other participating villages, Sare Demba Toro FC and Misira FC both received 4,000 and a football each.
All the participating teams and their fans were also given EU Access to Justice Football T-shirt bearing the slogan: “Access to Justice is Your Right”.
by Lamin B. Darboe