January 29, (THEWILL) — As preparations for the 2026 edition of the Governor’s Football Tournament, also known as the Prosperity Cup, enter top gear, the Central Organising Committee (COC) of the competition has sent out its technical team to assess the suitability of match venues.
The technical team will be inspecting the proposed match centres to ascertain the condition of the playing turf and how easily accessible the communities are. The technical team will also be conscious of security considerations.
There are a total of 35 proposed match centres across the state, with 30 centres scheduled to be selected to mark the 30th anniversary of the state.
According to the schedule of activities unveiled at the Central Organising Committee meeting held at the Tulip Resort Secretariat of the organisers, on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, the official kick-off date of the competition has been scheduled for February 26, 2026, to coincide with the presence of technical officials from Spanish football giants, FC Barcelona.
Members of the visiting team from FC Barcelona are expected to join the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, in taking the ceremonial kick-off.
THEWILL recalls that the organisers of Prosperity Cup recently struck a landmark partnership deal with FC Barcelona through their Netherlands-based agents, Whiz-kid Ventures. The deal will see the visiting FC Barcelona technical team conduct a three-day international UEFA-certified coaching clinic for 50 football coaches.
The international coaching clinic is being organised in collaboration with the Bayelsa State Ministry of Sports Development and the Bayelsa State Football Association (BFA) and powered by Abuja-based Sports Marketing firm, Red Sapphire Ltd.
The coach’s training programme, which will be coordinated by Bernard Villa Boas, the Technical Director for Africa Project, will take the Bayelsa grassroots football coaches through a series of sessions on modern coaching skills and techniques, with particular focus on the methodology and philosophy of the Spanish club.
The FC Barcelona coaching training programme will dovetail into another training to be organised in conjunction with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), with the Federation’s Technical Director, Austin Eguavoen, as the focal person.
Distribution of kits to the various teams, as well as draws for the competition, will be coming up on Thursday, February 19, 2026.
The grand finale of the competition is expected to take place on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the Samson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa.
The visit of the FC Barcelona team will afford them the opportunity to discuss the establishment of a world-class football academy in Bayelsa State.
Other areas of potential collaboration include the training of football administrators, talent identification and placement of discovered talents in schools, academies and clubs to further their development.
Prosperity Cup 2026 is a special edition that is being used to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the creation of Bayelsa State, and it will also mark the sixth anniversary of Governor Douye Diri’s ‘Assured Prosperity’ Administration.
Champions in the male category of this special “Bayelsa @ 30” edition of the competition will receive the sum of ₦30 million, while runners-up will go home with the sum of ₦10 million and in the female category, the winners will smile to the bank with the sum of ₦10 million, while the runners-up will be ₦5 million richer.
Meanwhile, plans are being intensified for a hitch-free edition of the tournament with a series of capacity-building programmes lined up in the coming weeks. These include training programmes for referees, medical personnel, centre coordinators, as well as media practitioners who will cover the tournament.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
