The major sponsor of Nigerian football, Globacom Unlimited has called on the 32 football clubs participating in this year’s Federation Cup to exhibit the spirit of fairness while competing for the coveted prize.
In a statement issued on Tuesday in Lagos, the telecom giant said the clubs that will play the Round of 32 on Wednesday should ensure fair play at the 16 venues where they will jostle for places in the quarter finals.
“At this stage, there is a vital need for all the 32 clubs to imbibe the spirit of fairness while competing for honours,” Globacom said in a statement in Lagos on Tuesday.
“The recognition that players plying their trade in the domestic league in the country have garnered in recent times has not gone unnoticed and this is why we expect the players to use the ongoing Federation Cup to showcase their class in the round leather game, the statement added
Globacom said that the players’ determination to add colour to the competition would equally re-invigorate the company’s resolve to support the groundswell of activities targeted at regaining the lost glamour of the Federation Cup.
The company noted that Federation Cup tournaments in the seventies and eighties (then known as either FA or Challenge Cup) produced outstanding players who formed the bulk of Nigeria’s National teams and urged the team managers and administrators to motivate their players towards winning the 2013 Federation Cup.
The leading telecommunications operator called on football fans to storm the stadia across the country to cheer their various teams to victory.
Among the top matches in the Round of 32 are ABS FC of Ilorin versus Bayelsa United coming up in Benin City, El Kanemi Warriors versus Kano Pillars in Lafia and Nembe City versus Sunshine Stars in Onitsha, while Shooting Stars of Ibadan will slug it out with JUTH FC of Jos in Minna.
