BY ANDREW EKEJIUBA
The maiden edition of Africa’s first drone soccer competition took place at Government Senior College Agege (Ipaja Road), Lagos at the weekend.
Tagged “The African Drone Soccer Challenge,” the competition was sponsored by the U.S. Consulate General and produced in partnership with the Global Air Drone Academy, U.S. Drone Soccer and the Lagos State Ministry of Education.
The Point gathered that seventy-one (71) student teams from high schools across Lagos Education District 1 submitted video applications for the advanced drone soccer program. Of this number, eight girl-led teams were selected to compete in the tournament with a $1,500 STEM lab to be awarded to the top three.
The competition according to the organizers aims to introduce drone sports in Nigeria, starting with underserved communities of Agege, Alimosho and Ifako-Ijaiye in Lagos Education District 1.
At the event, U.S. Consulate Public Affairs Officer Stephen Ibelli delivered remarks highlighting the importance of STEM education to Nigeria’s future prosperity and economic competitiveness.
