People from various areas of life have started giving money to Suraj Oyewale, a businessman in Lagos, who organized a football game after jokes about his football team being made up of electricians and carpenters.
Oyewale said his team will play against a chosen group of his friends on his X (previously known as Twitter) account.
PUNCH Online had earlier reported that Oyewale, also known as Sir J (J9), a big football fan and player, had challenged his friends to pick players from among themselves who are not professionals to play against his team and win N5 million if they beat them in the match scheduled for Saturday.
“For those who tease my football videos and say my players are carpenters and electricians, I have a challenge. If you beat my team, take N5 million as a prize. If you can’t beat my team, money gets returned to me. If you see a draw, go with a N1 million prize. N4 million gets returned to me. Players must be my followers or those who have doubted my football abilities. You have to show evidence,” he wrote.
He also mentioned that the purpose of the match was to prove to everyone that a team chosen quickly without proper training would not perform well on the field.
However, investigations by our reporter on Wednesday showed that the top graduate in Economics from Obafemi Awolowo University, known for frequently posting videos of his scoring skills during matches, has received support from many people and more than 1000 have expressed interest in being part of the Twitter (anti-Jarus) team.
Included in the individual supporters are Micheal Taiwo, who gave N1 million; Dalu Igwe (N1m), CEO of Printivo, who offered pepper soup at the event; Malik Asiwaju, who provided 20 bags of sachet water; and Seye Dele, who sponsored the jerseys for the Twitter team. The corporate sponsors include Scamore Nigeria, which donated N200,000 to Jarus for every goal scored, and Black Stallion Energy Drinks, which donated energy drinks for people at the event.
Commenting on the reason behind the donation, both Micheal and the Scamore NG said it was due to Jarus’ leadership and remarkable personality.
“We are pleased to see how grassroots football generates enthusiasm and togetherness, and I want to support that.
“We want the ‘plumbers’ in Jarus FC to be motivated to win because they may not be on Twitter, but they should know many of us are rooting for them to win on Saturday. All in all, this is a good, fun event that has been a uniting force in the country.”
However, some people who were not on the list have begun to fault it, alleging that there was bias in the selection, which encompasses Twitter influencers and celebrities who are not Jarus’ mutual.
In his defense, Jarus said the short time needed to coordinate the match was behind the Twitter team coordinator’s selection of the people he had worked with.
He maintained that Osi Suave, JJ Omojuwa, and Dalu Egwi were the biggest banterers of his football abilities, but only one was available for the match.
The football fan further pleaded with everyone to calm down as more people will play while acknowledging that some of the Twitter influencers on the list were good footballers who could handle the pressure for his team.
