On Saturday, 23rd May, 2026, the final day of the SEALS Cup ’26, MBBS lost 2-0 to ASSE in the Women’s final and 2-1 to Computing in the Men’s third place playoff, while BDS succumbed to a lone goal defeat against Philosophy in the Men’s final.
Men’s Third Place Play-off: MBBS vs Computing
MBBS, the defending SEALS Cup champions, finished the 2026 edition of the tournament in fourth place after a 2-1 defeat to Computing in the third place playoff at SUB. The result means Computing claim the bronze medal, while MBBS end a disappointing campaign with much to reflect on.
MBBS fielded a heavily rotated side, with quarter-final hero Emerald, captain Istanbul, Fuhad, and Prestige among the notable absentees. The rotation was not taken to so kindly by the supporters in the stand, who questioned the risk of offsetting the team balance, but the team started brightly enough, regardless and had multiple missed opportunities to take the lead.
Computing soon took full advantage. Their opener arrived when Element hesitated at a crucial moment, allowing an attacker to nod home. Richard was a bright spark for Computing on the left, and he doubled their advantage with a clinical finish on the counter attack while MBBS defenders were caught high up the pitch.
Habib was the second half’s standout figure — turning and twisting through the Computing midfield, dribbling past defenders, threading passes into dangerous areas, and drawing fouls in threatening positions. The MBBS goal, when it finally came, was well-worked. Sir Dave pressed Computing’s last man with urgency, winning the ball and releasing Ødegaard into a one-on-one with the keeper. The finish, an instinctive header, gave MBBS a lifeline and set us up for a nervy finish.
For the next twenty minutes, Computing’s lead grew increasingly fragile as MBBS continued to press hard. Ødegaard had a shot blocked by the last defender after a move that can only be described as taken straight from Cruyff’s Total Football handbook — beginning with Habib, flowing through Sir Dave and Prestige on the left, before finding the 2k28 midfielder in space. A free kick in a dangerous position was parried away by the Computing keeper, and Habib’s dummies and long balls kept the defence on their toes. A Computing shot narrowly missed at the other end, a reminder that the game was not entirely one-way. But the equaliser never came. Computing held firm, and their second goal ultimately proved decisive.
Ødegaard, the goalscorer, spoke to UIMSA Press after the match. On the result, he was candid: “Both goals were defensive errors. We also created a lot of chances that were wasted.”
On his goal, he recalled the moment vividly: “After the second half team talk, the pep talk from the coach and Habeeb really helped. Seeing the coach’s face always makes me feel like he deserves more — and expects more from us. So we had to go all out. The ball came to me and I just felt the keeper would stay on his line. I didn’t see him come out. The header was instinctive — it was a 50/50 with the keeper having the advantage, but I had to go all out. With the help of God, my head touched it and it went in.”
For a team that had reached the semi-finals as champions, fourth place will be a difficult result to swallow. Computing deservedly claimed their bronze. They scored their goals, defended their lead, and matched MBBS in attack when the champions came for them. MBBS, for their part, will have much to reflect on — about the choices that made a comeback necessary in the first place, and whether this defeat could have been avoided.
Women’s Final: ASSE vs MBBS
The women’s final was the third event of the day, starting almost immediately after the men’s third place playoff. The two teams who had come through the tournament unbeaten stood between each other and the title. ASSE aimed to become the first side to win the trophy twice since the women’s category’s inception in 2024; MBBS aimed to be the third separate side to claim it. History was going to be made either way.
The game kicked off at a quarter past 3 PM, under the full glare of the sun, almost an hour behind schedule. MBBS dominated early proceedings, winning several free kicks that refused to go in. Sarah, Ope and Chidinma linked up well in the final third, but ASSE remained stolid in defence and looked threatening on the counter. MBBS would feel hard done by at half-time — for all their good play, it was ASSE who broke the deadlock, a shot taking a wicked deflection before bouncing in over Afeezah in goal.
MBBS started the second half brightly, continuing to win set pieces high up the pitch, but the ASSE defence proved more than equal to the task. ASSE then won a free kick of their own and converted it in ruthless fashion. Undeterred, Ibadan Medicine continued to attack bravely, but on this day, the ball simply refused to go in.
The full-time whistle confirmed ASSE as SEALS Cup champions for the second time. For MBBS, it was another case of so close, yet so far but they can take heart in how they fought, and took the game to ASSE, who were widely considered tournament favourites from the outset.
One thing is certain: this team will be back. A significant portion of this squad are still in pre-clinicals — Roheemot of 2k27, Hemjay, Danielle and Ayanfe of 2k28 were all mainstays of this final run. The future holds much promise.
Men’s Final: Dentistry vs Philosophy
BDS’s fairytale run came to an end as Philosophy claimed the SEALS Cup ’26 title with a hard-fought 1-0 victory in Saturday’s final at SUB.
The final match of the 2026 SEALS Cup ‘26 kicked off around 4 PM on Saturday, 23rd May, 2026, with Philosophy’s experience — notably playing in their third final, and with silver and gold in 2022 and 2023 respectively, pitted against a BDS side that had slowly announced themselves as genuine contenders throughout the competition, knocking out some fancied opponents on their way to a debut final appearance.
Philosophy came into the game with a defensive record of just one goal conceded in eight matches and set about nullifying BDS’s prolific attack from the first whistle. Wave after wave of BDS pressure was absorbed, with goalkeeper Ife commanding his area on the occasions that required his intervention, and their patience would be rewarded mid-first-half as centre-back Hassan’s attempted clearance bounced its way past a horde of players and into the net.
Desperate to equalize, CJ led repeated charges at the Philosophy goal for Dentistry in the periods that followed, testing Ife on several occasions, but the equaliser simply would not come. BDS pushed until the final whistle, but Philosophy held firm to claim their second SEALS Cup title. For BDS, defeat will sting, but their debut final appearance is a statement in itself.
Awards
Sarah Cruz of MBBS claimed the women’s MVP award, with Afeezah Wojuade, also of MBBS, recognised as Keeper of the Tournament. Feyi of Physiotherapy was the women’s highest goalscorer with 5 goals. Aishat (LARIS) took home Rookie of the Year, and Charles (ASSE) was named Coach of the Tournament.
In the men’s category, Philosophy dominated the individual honours — Silas Divine Ebube was named Best Coach, Felix Owen Best Player, Akinwunmi Ife Keeper of the Tournament, and Falade David was Rookie of the Year. It was Busari Malik, of ASSE however, who took home the Golden Boot.
Oluwatimilehin Akinboye
