By:Oluwademilade Ogunleye
On Wednesday, 21st May 2025, the 7th edition of the Seals Cup tournament kicked off. With a beautiful opening ceremony, a large fan turn-out and higher expectations, 32 teams set out on a quest to dethrone the department of Medicine and Surgery to be crowned Champions. The opening game of the male category was a dramatic one as the defending Champions, MBBS, fought back to snatch a 2-2 draw against last year’s finalists, Industrial and Product Engineering. 47 games later, and we’re down to 16 teams.
In this piece, we shall be examining the 48 group stage matches. From the twists and turns, to the record breaking history made, star players showcased and dramatic endings, the Seals Cup group stage definitely had it all.
Here’s how things went down and how the ‘big 16’ worked and toiled to be the chosen ones for the knockouts.
Group A
The ‘group of death’ which housed the defending Champions alongside the departments of Industrial and Production Engineering, Arts. Not to forget, the departments of Social Science Education and Biochemistry definitely lived up to the hype.
Matchday 1 began with a dramatic comeback by MBBS leading to a 2-2 draw with IPE. The other Matchday center featured ASSE wrapping up the first 3 points of the group as Ola’s lone goal gave them the victory over Biochemistry.
Matchday 2 however took a dramatic turn when ASSE fell to a 1-0 defeat, courtesy of a goal from IPE signee, Agbowo. MBBS however were under no pressure as they thumped Biochemistry in a 5-0 victory with Habeeb scoring a hatrrick. Karbon and Prestige were also on target for the day for MBBS.
MBBS wrapped up Matchday 3 beautifully by getting their second victory in a 3-1 win over ASSE. Goals from Sir Dave, Karbon and Jide were more than enough to cancel out Malik’s goal. IPE and Biochemistry on the other hand played out a 1-1 draw with Kenneth on the scoresheet for IPE.
At the end of Matchday 3, MBBS stood at the top of the table with 7 points gathered. IPE followed closely behind with 5 points while ASSE and Biochemistry finished off the group with 3 and 1 points respectively.
Group B
For Group B, Pharmacy, Chemistry, Electronic and Electrical Engineering and Statistics were all set out to fight for a place in the knockouts.
Matchday 1 began with a comeback victory by Pharmacy as Dr. Show’s late finish was enough to cancel out Al-Ameen’s early goal to finish off the game 2-1 for the pharmacists. Statistics on the other hand began the tournament with a five-star performance as they shocked the Electricians with 5 unreplied goals. Braces from Baloo and Tofunmi, and a goal from Tofunmi saw (head coach) Ayobami’s side move top of the log after Matchday 1.
Chemistry bounced back on the second match as they defeated Matchday 1 stars, Statistics in a 2-0 victory with John and Rutarr on the score sheet. Pharmacy on the other hand kept their fine form as Afeez’s lone strike gave them a 1-0 victory against Elect Elect.
The final Matchday came with a fine finish from Pharmacy as they held on to their own in a 1-1 draw against Statistics to secure their first ever Seals Cup round of 16 qualification. Elect Elect seemed to come to the tournament to share free 3 points as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Chemistry with Sammy scoring the only goal in the game.
At the end of the Matchday, Pharmacy finished table toppers with 7 points with Chemistry also securing qualification with 6 points. Statistics’ 5 goals seemed to be a waste as they gathered only 4 points, just enough to knock them out in the group stage while Elect Elect had no point at all.
Group C
The group which was considered as one for the underdogs sure did give some amazing results. Economics, Physiotherapy, Microbiology and CLA were all poised to secure a ticket to chill with the big boys in the knockouts.
Matchday 1 began with history made as the Department of Economics secured their first ever Seals Cup win courtesy of a Yashir Brace. This they did against a CLA side who played most of the game with 10 men having gotten a red card in the early stages of the first half. Microbiology and Physiotherapy also shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw as Thanos and Iowo scored for Microbiology and Physiotherapy respectively.
Matchday 2 seemed to be a day for draw soups. Physiotherapy and Economics played out a 2-2 draw while Microbiology and CLA ended their game in a 1-1 draw.Matchday 3 however came with the final Matchday drama as Physiotherapy thumped CLA 4-1 to knock them out of the competition. Economics and Microbiology however played out a 1-1 draw.
After Matchday 3, Physiotherapy and Economics were tied on point with 5 points but were however separated on Goal difference with Physiotherapy’s +4 GD topping Economics’ +1. Microbiology and CLA however could not make it out of the group stage as they had just 3 and 1 points respectively.
Group D
The Fourth group also housed some powerhouses in the Departments of Law, Archeology/Anthropology, Civil Engineering and Political Science.
Matchday 1 began with a shock 2-0 defeat of Political Science as a penalty goal from Heskeyman and a late minute strike from Nurudeen gave Civil Engineering a comfortable 2-0 win against Political Science. In the other Matchday center, Archeology/Anthropology stunned Law as their two early goals were more than enough to give them a 2-1 victory over Coach Olowu’s side.
Matchday 2 featured a fight back from Political Science. Despite being reduced to 10 men, they got a 1-0 victory over the men from the Depat of Law. Civil Engineering also defeated Archeology/Anthropology by 2 goals to 1.
Civil Engineering showed they didn’t come to the tournament to play as they made it 3 over 3 wins in a 3-0 victory over already down Faculty of Law. Political Science also stunned Archeology/Anthropology in a 5-0 win to secure their round of 16 slot.
At the end of the group stage, Civil Engineering finished top of the group with 9 points while Political Science bounced back from their opening day defeat to finish off with 6 points. Archeology/Anthropology had 3 points with Law going home with nothing.
Group E
The Departments of Veterinary Medicine, LARIS, History and Sociology.
Matchday 1 began with a Victory for Captain Orodin side as Tolu and Robinson’s goals gave Veterinary Medicine an easy 2-0 victory over the Department of History. Elsewhere, Sociology defeated the department of Library Archival and Informstion Studies (LARIS) 1-0, courtesy of Kay’s solo effort.
Veterinary Medicine continued their fine form as they got a Matchday 2 victory over LARIS with Robinson scoring his second goal of the tournament. History however came back from their opening day loss to defeat Sociology 1-0, the only goal scored by Thiago.
Matchday 3 however saw more drama as the Obaro Warriors lived up to their name by making history as they stunned LARIS with 8 unreplied goals. A brace from Louis and Ezekiel, with goals from Dumebi, Anthony, Thiago and Ibrahim gave the History side the biggest win, yet, of this year’s tournament.
Having won their 3 games, Veterinary Medicine finished top of the table with 9 points with History making their first ever Seals Cup Round of 16 qualification with 6 points. Sociology however could not make it as they finished with 3 points while LARIS finished off with zero points.
Group F
It was a Science and Tech affair in Group F which had the departments of Environmental Health Science, Wood Production Engineering, Geology and Physics.
Matchday 1 started slowly as EHS came back from one goal down to finish off the game against Physics in a 1-1 draw. Geology on the other hand secured their first ever Seals Cup victory as Patrick’s second half gave them their historic win against WPE.
Matchday 2 came with a redemption for WPE as Mjay’s goal was enough to give them all 3 points against Physics. Geology on the other hand played out a 2-2 draw against EHS with Olaoluwa and Afeez on the scoresheet for Geology.
Geology’s Matchday 3 1-1 draw against Physics was more than enough to seal their first ever Seals Cup round of 16 qualification. Somod’s goal for Physics was cancelled out by Bayo’s strike for Geology. EHS however would have a tournament to forget as they fell to a 3-1 defeat to WPE. Mjay, Akandu and Kunle were all on the scoresheet for WPE.
Group F finished off with WPE as table toppers with 6 points while Geology had 5 points. Physics and EHS had 2 points a piece.
Group G
Group G sure had some amazing matchups and dramatic finish as the departments of Forestry, Philosophy, Psychology and Agricultural Engineering all battled for the top two spots. The Matchday 1 fixture between Forestry and Philosophy was all shades of dramatic. A game that saw 10 cards, including 4 red ended in a 1-0 victory for Philosophy. Agricultural Engineering however saw out a comfortable 1-0 victory over Psychology.
The table however turned for Philosophy in Matchday 2 as they fell to a 2-0 defeat in the hands of Agricultural Engineering. Elsewhere, Psychology secured their first 3 points of the tournament defeating Forestry by a lone goal.Psychology wrapped up their group stage on a high as they defeated Philosophy by 2 goals to 1. The game between AEE and Forestry ended in a walkover 3-0 victory for AEE, sending AEE to the top of the table.
As for standings in this group, AEE finished with all 9 points while Psychology followed closely behind with 6 points. Philosophy however would try again next year as their 3 points couldn’t secure knockouts qualification for them. Forestry on the other hand had no points and no goals scored.
Group H
The Final group had the departments of Urban and Regional Planning, Architecture, Petroleum Engineering and KHE.
The Department of KHE started their tournament with a win as an own goal from Petroleum Engineering was enough to give them the win. URP also got their first win of the tournament as they defeated Architecture 2-1. Goals from Damilola and Abdulbasit in the first 10 minutes were enough to cancel out Tomiwa’s second half strike.
KHE got their second win on Matchday 2 against URP, a 3-1 victory that saw Mystero, Francis and Pogba on the scoresheet for KHE. Petroleum Engineering however defeated Architecture 2-0 as Alien and Mayowa were on the scoresheet.
Petroleum Engineering made it a Matchday 3 redemption as their 2-1 win against URP with goals from Jah 3 and Ajibola making sure their Round of 16 slot was secured. The game between KHE and Architecture was however a walkover for KHE.
The Department of Human Kinetics finished off the group stage with 9 points while Petroleum Engineering also secured qualification with 6 points. URP could only salvage 3 points while Architecture had 0 points.
Round of 16 Teams and Fixtures
After 48 matches and 3 Matchdays, the following Departmental teams have secured qualifications for the Round of 16: MBBS, IPE, Pharmacy, Chemistry, Physiotherapy, Economics, Civil Engineering, Political Science, Veterinary Medicine, History, WBE, Geology, Agricultural Engineering, Psychology, Human Kinetics, Petroleum Engineering.
For the round of 16 matches, the defending champions would have a date with Faculty of Science’s Chemistry with Physiotherapy having a face-off with Political Science. Geology would face a huge test as they take on Veterinary Medicine while it will be a Faculty of Tech Affair between Agricultural Engineering and Petroleum Engineering. Economics would try to cross the hurdle in Civil Engineering as IPE take on a formidable Pharmacy side. Psychology and KHE would battle it out with WBE taking on History. All matches would be held at the Old SUB Pitch and would begin on Tuesday, 10th of June 2025.
