Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) 2017 top scorer Anthony Okpotu on Saturday received an award in recognition of his achievement from Rashidi Yekini Foundation.
Okpotu scored nineteen goals in the 2016/17 NPFL season, the final one on the last day of the season at FC Ifeanyiubah to overtake Stephen Odey on the goal scorers chat.
The Lobi Stars striker who was the first ever player to score three hattricks in a single NPFL season was honoured by the Foundation set up in memory of the late record goalscorer for Nigeria’s Super Eagles Rashidi Yekini.
Asides the golden ball presented to him by the daughter of late Yekini, Yemi Yekini, Okpotu also received a cheque of one hundred thousand naira (N100,000) in the ceremony held at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium (formerly known as Liberty Stadium), Ibadan.
“It is a huge honour for me to receive this award in memory of one of the greatest footballers this country has ever had,” Okpotu told www.aclsports.com at the end of the ceremony.
“Although I was still small and didn’t really watch him play live, I have been able to see some of his goals through YouTube and he is someone who players like me would like to emulate,” he added.
The Rashidi Yekini Foundation is headed by the lawyer of late Rashidi, Jubril Olanrewaju and he told www.aclsports.com after the event that it was just his own little way of remembering the Goals Father.
“Yekini has done a lot for the country and deserves more even in death. This is just my little way of celebrating someone who was a friend, brother and a client to me,” said Jubril.
Some Nigerian football stakeholders were present at the ceremony on Saturday including Oyo State’s Commissioner for Sports, Abayomi Oke, Lobi Stars supremo Mike Idoko, former internationals Felix Owolabi, Barnabas Immenger among others.
Okpotu is the third recipient of Rashidi Yekini Foundation’s Highest goalscorer prize for the Nigeria Professional Football League after Godwin Obaje in 2016 and Gbolahan Salami in 2015.
