Nigeria Content Online

The Chairman of
Globacom Limited, the official sponsor of the annual African Footballer
of the Year Awards ceremony, Mike Adenuga Jr, has promised authorities
of the game on the continent of increased support for football
development in the coming years.

Mr. Adenuga Jr,
made this declaration in his welcome speech broadcast to an audience
that included the vice president of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama; and a
former president of the country John Agyekum Kuffour at the 2009
Glo-CAF Awards ceremony in Accra, Ghana.

Passion for the game

In a statement
issued by the company, he explained that his company’s huge
contributions to supporting football through the sponsorship of the
national teams and the League in Ghana and Nigeria and through the
Glo-CAF Awards on the continent was informed by the company’s passion
for the game.

While expressing
his gratitude to the Ghanaian president, John Atta Mills, for his
immense support, Mr. Adenuga Jr. said “I am well aware of your love of
the beautiful game and thank you for all of your support both on and
off the pitch. As you know, Glo is a young African company so it’s not
surprising that football is our passion too.”

He urged the six
African teams to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa to do the continent
proud by repeating the feat of the Ghana U-20 team that won the FIFA
Junior World Cup last year in Egypt.

He also said: “In
the Under 20 world Cup, I was delighted to see the young Ghanaian Team,
The Black Satellites, become the first African team ever to lift the
U-20 World Cup. I hope your older brothers do you just as proud in
South Africa in June, along with all the other African teams.”

Football sponsorship

He noted that while
Globacom has been more involved with football sponsorship in the last
one year, there will be even greater support in the years ahead.

“In this last year,
I believe we have been more involved in football than ever before. For
five years now, we’ve sponsored the Glo-Caf Awards and we have now
agreed to do so for many years to come,” Mr. Adenuga Jr. added. “We, of
course, also sponsor the Premier Leagues in both Nigeria and Ghana and
we’ve also been heavily involved as a sponsor, in the Under 17 World
Cup.”

Mr. Adenuga Jr.
also promised that the recent partnership between Globacom and
Manchester United will fast-track the development of young talents in
West Africa to become great stars and offer opportunity for fans to
enjoy all expenses paid trips to watch live matches at Old Trafford.

“The fact is that Glo has become the first telecommunications
operator in Africa to sign a deal that partners us with one of the
world’s most famous and successful football clubs. For young West
African players, this will give them a real chance to hone their skills
at the Manchester United Soccer Academy. It will offer them the
opportunity to win lots of all-expenses-paid trips to watch live
matches at Old Trafford, The Theatre of Dreams,” he said.