Young Strikers FC will face Tonic FC in the final of the 2026 1xCup at the Inspire Sport Arena, Lagos, on Saturday, with the teams competing for the title in the grassroots football tournament featuring a N20m prize pool.
The final will kick off at 2pm, after Collins Edwin SC and JP Young Stars FC meet in the third-place playoff at 11am.
Former Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo, is among the guests expected at the event, which will bring to a close more than three months of competition involving 100 clubs from Lagos.
Young Strikers head into the final with 21 goals in eight matches, while Tonic will seek to complete a campaign that began with penalty shootout victories in both qualifying fixtures.
Coached by Waheed Kosoko, Young Strikers defeated Peace FC and Africano FC in the qualifiers before topping their group.
They subsequently eliminated Dynamic FC, Emiloju and Collins Edwin SC to reach the final.
The Lagos Island side have featured in all four editions of the competition, reaching the semi-finals in 2023.
Forward Lawal Muiz has been central to their campaign, scoring six goals and providing two assists in seven appearances.
He has also earned two Man-of-the-Match awards and is among the tournament’s top three scorers.
Midfielder Atanda Fuhad has contributed five assists and one goal, alongside one Man-of-the-Match award.
Tonic, coached by Oladipupo Abiola, defeated Agbede Supreme FC and Vino Gano on penalties in the qualifiers before drawing all three group matches.
They found form in the knockout rounds, beating 36 Lion FC in the round of 16, Joy Cometh FC 2-1 in the quarter-finals and JP Young Stars in the semi-finals.
In the third-place match, Collins Edwin will target the N3m prize after their semi-final defeat to Young Strikers.
Collins Edwin have scored 22 goals in eight games, the highest tally in the competition. Forward Obiora Sunny has contributed six goals and five assists.
Their goalkeeper, Chidera Maduka, is in contention for the Golden Glove award, while defender Ejiofor Morgan and midfielder Adedayo Ibrahim are potential candidates for the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.
JP Young Stars will look to end their campaign with a win, having produced one of the tournament’s notable comebacks against Inspire SA. They recovered from 3-1 down to equalise within 10 minutes before winning on penalties.
Other guests expected at Saturday’s matches include the Director-General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Lekan Fatodu, and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai.
The organisers said the matches would also be streamed live on YouTube.
