CBN unveils plans for Financial Institutions competition

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has outlined plans for this year’s NFF/CBN All Financial Institutions Football Competition, with preliminary matches scheduled to kick off on Sunday, September 13 and the grand finale to come up in Enugu on Saturday, September 26.
Unveiling the plans at a press parley in Abuja on Thursday, CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Mr. Ibrahim Mu’azu, explained that the sum of N5 million will be handed out as cash prizes, with the winning team to go home with the sum of N2m and the runner-up to pocket the sum of N1.5m.
The third –placed team will earn N1m and the fourth-placed will be N500,000 richer.
“A total of 24 teams have registered for this year’s competition, from Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Financial Regulatory Agencies and other financial institutions. It has been observed that in recent years, Microfinance Banks have also been participating in the competition.
“This competition, which is in its 29th years, serves as a platform for the promotion of unity, harmony and peaceful co-existence among institutions in Nigeria’s financial system. It is an established fact that the game of soccer is a unifying force globally and as such, a source of national pride that is devoid of ethnic, regional and political colourations.”
This year’s competition will begin with the preliminary matches in Ado-Ekiti, Kaduna, Makurdi and Owerri on September 13. The quarter -final matches will take place in the same centres, while the semi-finals will be played in Calabar and Lokoja, before the finale at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu on September 26.