The fifth-oldest secondary school in Nigeria, Hope Waddell Training Institute, HWTI, has insisted that the first organised football match in the country was played at their school in Calabar.
They maintained that the pioneer Scottish missionaries, who established the school in 1895 as part of the church, introduced the game of football to Nigeria.
The National President of the Alumni Association, Efioita Okon Ephraim, disclosed this at a press briefing and called on the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF to officially recognize the school’s historical role in Nigerian football.
He further revealed that officials of the NFF would arrive in Calabar to witness a series of sporting activities, including a football match between arch-rivals St. Patrick College, SPACO, and HWTI.
Chairman of HWTI’s 130th anniversary celebrations, Sir Toni Ikpeme, corroborated this claim, adding that cricket and golf were also first played in the school by the European Club, later renamed Calabar Golf Club.
According to him, HWTI produced the country’s first football, cricket, and golf teams.
He also noted that several novelty football matches have been lined up to celebrate the school’s 130th anniversary, along with the commissioning of projects sponsored by the Alumni Association.
