Gumani FC are champions of SavannaFest, but for their coach, the trophy was only part of the point.

Abdul Latif Wakil, who led Gumani to victory this year after a fourth-place finish last year, used the moment of triumph to appeal to the tournament's sponsor, MTN, to send scouts to move the festival a notch higher.

Speaking after his team lifted the trophy, Mr. Wakil called on MTN Ghana to begin deploying talent scouts to the tournament in the near future so that, by the end of the competition, unheralded players could be unearthed for the world.

Last year, he noted, his side was part of the tournament but fell short. That fourth-place finish, he said, forced the team to re-strategize and work harder to win this year.

"Last year we were part of the tournament but placed fourth, forcing us to put in an effort to emerge as winners this year," Mr. Wakil said.

It is a familiar story at grassroots football tournaments across northern Ghana where community fields serve as informal academies and competitions like SavannaFest are the closest thing many young players have to a showcase.

The sentiment was echoed, in defeat, by his opposite number. Sakasaka FC Coach Safianu Yassir said even though his team put up a good fight, luck was not on their side.

Mr. Yassir added that "there would be a tomorrow: another season, another chance to compete.

Kwami Aseye Akude, Retail Experience Manager for Northern Ghana, said the company is looking forward to making the SavannaFest football tournament bigger and better next year after a decade of running the competition.

He said MTN was excited to have been able to bring communities together while unearthing new talents through football.

He said the tournament, which coincided with MTN's 30th anniversary celebration in Ghana, was themed "30 Years of Progress Powered by Youth" in recognition of the support Ghanaians have offered the company.

"The significance of this tournament is that it coincided with the 30-year celebration of MTN," Mr Akude said.

According to him, the SavannaFest football tournament has been running alongside the wider SavannaFest for the past ten years, with eight teams playing in last year's edition.

This year, Gumani FC emerged winners and received 20,000 cedis, followed by Sakasaka FC with 10,000 cedis and Sabonjida with 5,000 cedis.