Sanwo-Olu, Elegbeleye, Others in the Spotlights as Pitch Awards Hold Saturday
There will be real pomp and pageantry in the city of Uyo on Saturday as the tenth edition of Nigeria Pitch Awards comes to town. The Ibom Hotel and Golf Resorts is the venue.
Shina Phillips, chief organizer of the awards, said on Thursday that all is set for a ceremony that will be full of panache, glitz and glamour.
“As I said a couple of weeks ago, we are leaving no stone unturned to ensure a memorable tenth edition of the awards. All is set, and we are in Uyo not only to put up a super-show, but to mobilize resources within our capacity to support the Super Eagles to victory in tomorrow’s match. As an organization, we will continue to genuinely appreciate the NFF, the Super Eagles, all our friends, enablers, affiliates and commercial partners, for their support over the past 10 years, and to promise that the values of transparency, integrity and credibility will never depart from the Nigeria Pitch Awards.”
Nominees have been picked in all 18 award categories, with the winners to be unveiled on Saturday. The award categories include Goalkeeper of the Year, Defender of the Year, Midfielder of the Year, Striker of the Year, Queen of the Pitch, King of the Pitch, Sam Okwaraji Award, Football Pitch, Football-Friendly Governor, Corporate Sponsor, alongside several honours for media representatives.
Goalkeeper of the Year: Kayode Bankole (Remo Stars); Amas Obasogie (Bendel Insurance); Ojo Olorunleke (Enyimba FC)
Defender of the Year: Calvin Bassey (Fulham FC); Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest); Bright Osayi-Samuel (Fenerbahce SK)
Midfielder of the Year: Alhassan Yusuf (Royal Antwerp); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City); Alex Iwobi (Fulham FC)
Striker of the Year: Robert Mizo (Bayelsa United); Victor Osimhen (Napoli SC); Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen)
Queen of the Pitch: Rasheedat Ajibade (Atletico de Madrid Femenino); Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC); Asisat Oshoala (Bay FC)
King of the Pitch: Victor Osimhen (Napoli SC); Emeka Obioma (Enyimba FC); Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen)
Team of the Year: Super Falcons; Enyimba FC; Remo Stars
Coach of the Year: Daniel Ogunmodede (Remo Stars); Finidi George (Enyimba FC); Randy Waldrum (Super Falcons)
Sam Okwaraji Award: Victor Osimhen (Napoli SC); Ahmed Musa; Kunle Soname (Proprietor, Remo Stars)
State With The Best Grassroots Football Development Programme: Edo State; Delta State; Lagos State
Football Pitch of the Year: Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos; Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne; Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo
GTI Thumbs up Flavour, Osupa, Others for Identifying with NPFL
Renowned Investment banking firm, GTI Group, has expressed delight with Nigeria’s music icons Flavour, Saheed Osupa, DJ Big N, MC Bash and CDQ for identifying with the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).
According to the Media Officer of Rangers International of Enugu, Norbert Okolie, the presence of Flavour at Match-day 33 to cheer the team served as a morale booster which saw fans of the club thronging to Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium as Rangers trounced Bayelsa United 3-0 to maintain their grip on the summit of the NPFL table.
On another separate occasion, and during Match-day 34, Saheed Osupa, DJ Big N, MC Bash and CDQ took fans to ‘Cloud 9’ as they lavishly entertained them shortly after the game between 3SC of Ibadan and visiting Abia Warriors. In that encounter, 3SC triumphed 4-0 over Abia Warriors and the Media Officer of 3SC, Tosin Omojola confirmed that the presence of the four artists helped attract a massive crowd of supporters to the match venue.
Reacting to this positive development, GTI’s Head of Media and Publicity, Andrew Ekejiuba, commended the music icons for joining other stakeholders in complimenting the efforts of Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye-led Nigeria Premier Football League board in promoting the beautiful game in the country.
He added that the blend of football and live music performance has the magical wand of returning the crowd to our various elite league venues. He then called on other notable musicians to emulate this new trend and partner with our elite clubs to facilitate the development of the sports ecosystem for mutual benefits.
“As strategic partners to the NFF on the President Federation Cup and the Nigeria Premier Football League respectively, GTI Asset Management and Trust Limited are delighted with this positive development whereby our music superstars are identifying with the elite league and contributing to the upliftment of Nigerian football using their God-given talent.”
