By Adebayo Oluwajuwon
The Survival Cup 2026 press conference was held on July 27, 2026, at the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) Chamber, University of Ibadan, in preparation for the seventh edition of the competition.
The press conference commenced at 4:22 p.m., 22 minutes after the originally scheduled start time of 4:00 p.m. Proceedings began with opening remarks from the Organising Committee Chairman, Mr Stephen Oluwatofeyetun, followed by the attendance of representatives from the registered departments ahead of the group stage draw.
The Survival Cup is an interdepartmental football competition designed to measure the footballing strength of second-year students at the University of Ibadan. The competition features five-a-side matches, bringing together sophomore students from various departments to compete for the coveted gold medal.
Twenty teams, comprising both single and merged departments, registered for this year’s edition. The teams were drawn into seven groups, labelled A to G. Groups A to F consist of three teams each, with every team playing two group-stage matches against the other teams in its group. Meanwhile, the two teams in Group G will play a two-legged fixture to ensure fairness.
At the end of the group stage, the winners of each of the seven groups, alongside the best-performing runner-up, will advance to the quarter-finals.
The teams were seeded into three pots based on team strength and performance in previous competitions. MBBS, placed in Pot 1, were drawn into Group B alongside Wood Products Engineering (WPE)/Agricultural and Environmental Engineering (AEE) and Quantity Surveying/Urban and Regional Planning (URP).
Full Group Stage Draw
Group A
- Mathematics/Science and Technology Education (STE)
- Chemistry/Microbiology
- Mechanical Engineering
Group B
- Medicine and Surgery
- Wood Products Engineering (WPE)/Agricultural and Environmental Engineering (AEE)
- Quantity Surveying/Urban and Regional Planning (URP)
Group C
- Economics
- Industrial and Production Engineering (IPE)
- Agricultural Economics/Crop Protection and Environmental Biology (CPEB)
Group D
- Veterinary Medicine
- European Studies/Philosophy
- Archaeology & Anthropology/Civil Engineering
Group E
- Public Statistics
- Forestry/Wildlife
- Computer Science/Physics
Group F
- Political Science
- Biochemistry/Physiology
- Sociology/Psychology
Group G
- Petroleum Engineering
- Nursing/Dentistry
The tournament is scheduled to kick off on Friday, July 31, with the opening fixture. Additional match details are expected to be released in the coming days.
The press conference concluded at 4:58 p.m.
Credit: UIMSA Press
