Liberty Academy crowned Arthurlegacy Invitational Champions after penalty shootout drama
Liberty Academy were crowned champions of the Arthurlegacy Invitational Tournament after edging EurAfrica on penalties following an exciting 2-2 draw in Thursday’s final at the SMAC Centre in Accra.
The week-long competition, organised by Arthurlegacy Sports in partnership with CAA Base from May 18 to 22, brought together emerging football talents, scouts, executives and international stakeholders. The tournament formed part of a broader initiative focused on competition, education and player development.
The final lived up to expectations as EurAfrica opened the scoring to take an early lead. Liberty Academy responded impressively, overturning the deficit to move 2-1 ahead before EurAfrica converted a late penalty to level the contest and force a shootout.
With the title on the line, Liberty Academy kept their composure from the spot to seal victory and lift the trophy.
Liberty Academy coach Desmond Owusu Nyantakyi expressed his delight after guiding his side to success.
“It’s a big tournament. To come here and win this, we feel great. We’ll come and try again; you can never predict how a match will end, but obviously we’ll come and put up our best again. And I’m sure our best will be enough,” he said.
Italian Ambassador to Ghana Laura Ranalli, who attended the final, commended the organisers and highlighted the spirit of the event.
“I’m very happy to be here today, and every time there’s a sports event, we see a celebration of joy and friendship. Today, it was a very nice example of this. So, I’m very much grateful to Arthur Legacy for organising this and inviting me,” she said.
Arthurlegacy Sports CEO Oliver Arthur disclosed plans to expand the tournament after receiving encouraging feedback from partners CAA Base.
He said the competition could eventually spread nationwide and feature teams from neighbouring African countries.
“Finally, the most important thing is we’ve been able to impress our partners at CAA Base. The level of the players, their education level and also, finally, the organisation, so they’re very happy about it,” Arthur said.
“With them coming on board now, it means that the tournament is going to grow bigger and bigger all the time. Going forward, we want to do something across the nation and possibly bring other neighbouring African countries into the tournament.”
Ahead of the final, organisers also hosted a seminar at the Mensvic Grand Hotel in Accra to educate footballers, coaches and administrators on the legal, technical and commercial dimensions of the sport.
Comments (0)