Ologbonla, Panaticos Battle For Kasali Kudus Ileya Cup Glory
BY RAYMOND NWADUBA
History will be made on Sunday, May 31, 2026, as Ologbonla FC battles Panaticos FC in the final of the 5th Edition of Kudus Kasali Ileya Cup scheduled to hold at the Kasali Kudus Sports Centre, Abaranje Okeorube, Lagos, at 3pm.
Ologbonla FC are the defending champions which they are now gunning for their third- straight title and will be counting on experience to claim the crown. They defeated Horobo FC 3- 1 to reach the final while Panaticos FC humbled Future Stars FC 5-4 on penalties after playing out a pulsating 1-1 at full time in their semi-final match to qualify for the final.Reacting on the final, Ologbonla FC coach, Thomas Agbadu expressed optimism in his team to clinch a deserved third straight title.
“I think we deserve a third title. Having come this far, it shows the level of work we have put in, which we will definitely get the job done come Sunday.
“Though, it hasn’t been easy given the level of competition but we had our work cut out and believed firmly in ourselves”, he noted.
But for coach Michael Elisha of Panaticos FC the run of Ologbonla will be hurted. “My boys are ready and we will definitely stop them”, he said.
“We’re not scared of them nor any team, we only have respect for our opponents. If you check our previous matches you will notice that we are very determined and focused”, he concluded.
Horobo FC will now confront Future Stars FC in the losers final (third place match) which will be decided at the same venue on Friday, May 29, 2026, at 9.am.
The winners of the competition will smile home with the sum of five hundred thousand naira (N500,000) prize money, with the runner up pocketing three hundred thousand naira (N300,000), the third place winners will receive one hundred and fifty thousand naira (N150,000) while fourth place team gets fifty thousand naira (N50,000). There will also be gifts and cash rewards for individual award winners for their outstanding performances, organisers have said.
The race for the Highest goal scorer in the tournament is led by Job David of Believers Foundation FC with 5 goals despite his team already eliminated. He is trailed by Panaticos FC’s Tunde Owoeye, Future Stars FC’s Segun Faleye and Ologbonla FC’s Olamilekan Adeshina, all with 3 goals each respectively.
