Driven by his unwavering resolve to boost sports development in line with the Renewed Hope mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister of Sports Development, Sen. John Enoh, has signed three Memoranda of Understanding.
Diana-Mary Nsan, Special Assistant Media to the Minister of Sports Development, announced on Saturday that Enoh had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with GTI Asset Management and Trust Limited in Lagos to relaunch the Challenge Cup as the President Federation Cup in collaboration with the NFF, with the goal of reigniting fan interest and elevating it to global standards.
The renamed competition will involve grassroots teams, create employment for approximately 500,000 Nigerians, engage over 100 million football enthusiasts, and showcase our country’s greatness globally.
The President’s Federation Cup will become President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s legacy of championing Nigerian football.
The Minister said: “Our groundbreaking agreements with key private sector players like GTI are indications of our resolve to revolutionize sports in Nigeria, leveraging innovation, technology, and human expertise.”
He thanked Mrs. Tinuke Watti, the Permanent Secretary of the Sports Ministry, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, the President of the NFF, Mr. Abubakar Lawal, and all members of the GTI team for their invaluable contributions.
For the second deal, the Ministry signed a landmark agreement with top lottery company Yanga Games to raise its revenue profile and ensure a new deal for the welfare of athletes.
The minister added: “We are partnering with YangaGames to bring maximum benefits to the athletes and all critical stakeholders. We shall give institutional encouragement and support to the management of Yanga Games to succeed in this onerous task of rebuilding our sports subsector.”
The Chairman/CEO of Yanga Games, Mr. Derrick David Kentebe, said:”We are so super excited by this opportunity to work with the Ministry of Sports Development to change the narrative about sports in the country.
“We see opportunities for marketing our athletes and sports generally. We shall raise about 34 billion in the next four years to assist athletes and improve sports in the country.
“We shall help to develop grassroot sports and sustain youth involvement through raffle draws, fundraisers, and other avenues.”
Enoh said he strongly believed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda offers the best opportunity to promote systemic development in Nigerian sports, and the collaboration aims to make sports more attractive to private investors so that it can receive meaningful investments from the private sector.
For the third agreement, the Federal Ministry of Sports Development joined forces with EFFA Management for specific purposes that will enhance various aspects of the sports ministry’s strategic six-point policy framework. When Senator Enoh took office, the Ministry developed a six-point agenda named W.A.I.F.A.R.
This agenda includes the welfare of our athletes, the activation of sports as an industry, infrastructure development, funding for sports development, the activation of grassroots sports, and the reorganisation of sports federations to ensure effective delivery.
The minister said that the sports sector is currently experiencing a surge in efforts to improve its performance, and the Ministry is fully prepared to establish partnerships that will facilitate this much-needed transformation.
With these three groundbreaking agreements, Nigerian sports is on the cusp of phenomenal development that will further propel athletes and federations towards greater success.
He thanked all parties for keying into the ministry’s vision, stating that the ministry will continually pursue causes that will lead to strategic positioning for greater development.
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