As part of the immediate dividends of its partnership with The Different Box LLC and United Arab Emirates (Dubai Sports Council), four clubs from the Nationwide League One (NLO) have been invited to take part in the maiden edition of a Gulf-African Football Tournament scheduled for early next year in Dubai.

GAF is a tournament organized by a Dubai-based event management company (The Different Box) along with the permit of Dubai Sports Council. It is a two week event; starting from January 10-25, 2016 and will feature sixteen teams from both regions.

The Executive Secretary of the NLO, Olushola Ogunnowo said that the invitation was made possible following the League’s quest to collaborate with the lower league in Dubai in its effort to showcase the NLO to the world.

However, the NLO Secretariat has written to all clubs in the NLO to prepare ahead of the tournament that would also serve as pre-season training for the clubs.

“Good things are bound to happen in our League with the giant strides we are taking here at the Secretariat, and which are approved and supported by the Board. This invitational tournament will help to expose our boys, improve the level of growth in the League and even open business opportunities for the clubs and players alike.”

“The organizers of the tournament rated our League high; that is why they gave us as many as four slots. Nigeria alone has been handed four slots out of the eight reserved for the entire African continent, so we can’t afford to miss this chance; we are going to mobilize our clubs to honour the invitation,” he said.