Nigeria Football League body names highest Goal-scorer's award after Rasheed Yekini

Nigeria Professional Football League body LMC, has named the Highest Goal Scorer trophy in honour of Super Eagles legend Rashidi Yekini.

The League Management company Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, said in a statement that the decision to name the trophy after the late striker was made by the board in order to immortalise the player who scored a total of 37 goals in 58 appearances for Nigeria.

“There is a broad plan to institute awards and honour outstanding players, officials, key stakeholders and fans in the league at the end of every season. There are a number of factors that led us to reach the decision to name one of these awards, that of the highest goal scorer, after the late Rashidi Yekini. The awards is part of strategic plans of the LMC to create commercial value and additional revenues out of the assets inherent in the league property,” Dikko said in a statement on the league’s website.

“We considered the aspiration factor, which seeks to let the players know that they too can become national heroes if they achieve excellence and make a success of their career. It says to them that they too can become legends of the game and the society will honour them as we have sought to honour the late Yekini.”

The LMC Chairman disclosed that a monetary incentive and other social benefits will be attached to the awards.

He said, “We have received a request from the Rashidi Yekini Foundation to provide additional cash support to the winner and we are studying their proposal. There are already plans to officially unveil the special trophy for this award at one of the league games.”