By Ali Elias
The Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Games (NOGIG) 2024 football tournament had some really exciting semi-final matches last Saturday. Now, everyone’s looking forward to the big final match between the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) teams, in Abuja, come April.
In a thrilling game at the Shell Residential Area in Port Harcourt, NCDMB won against the current champions, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), with a score of 1-0. This means NNPC won’t be able to go for the gold medal this time.
In the other semi-final, NLNG also made it to the final by winning 1-0 against the National Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA). NLNG had a great run in the group stage, winning all their matches against TotalEnergies and SEPLAT. They also showed determination by winning against PTI in the quarter-finals through a penalty shootout (4-2) before defeating NMDPRA.
Both NLNG and NCDMB have been unbeaten throughout the tournament, showing off some top-notch football talent in the oil and gas industry. NCDMB has been particularly strong, winning all their group matches and securing convincing wins in the quarter-finals (3-0 against NUPRC) and semi-finals.
The teams that didn’t make it to the final will now compete for the bronze medal in a third-place match, just before the eagerly awaited final showdown between NLNG and NCDMB at Abuja in April.