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GTI  Group hails media  and tasks investors on The Nigeria Football Fund

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Andrew Ekejiuba

The Nigeria Football Fund (TNFF) Head of Media and Publicity, Andrew Ekejiuba, has expressed delight at the quality of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) coverage by the sporting media in the country. He has called on more stakeholders to support the League by investing in the TNFF.

The Nigeria Football Fund will facilitate sustainable liquidity in the football ecosystem and also provide attractive Returns on Investment (ROI) to investors.

Speaking with a section of the media recently in Lagos, the veteran sports journalist and author said the ongoing abridge league has received heart-warming media coverageand thanked the sporting press for doing a great job.

 He added that the second phase of the league which will commence on25th March 2023 will be quite thrilling.

GTI which is the strategic partner to the NPFL is leaving no stone unturned in laying a solid foundation for the league to thrive in the country.

“We are at a threshold of making history with the Nigeria Premier Football League following the massive media coverage given to our league by the sporting press at the ongoing 2022/2023 season and the positive restructuring that is quietly going on in the background as a result of the emergence of GTI into Nigeria’s football ecosystem.

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“Thanks to the sporting press for the great job they are doing with the league coverage.

“The introduction of TNFF by GTI has also brought a positive turnaround to the NPFL such that the issue of funding for our football league is no longer a problem. Clubs, FAs, match officials and NPFL staff can give testimony to the level of support and attention given by GTI in this regard,” Ekejiuba said.

He however called on Corporate Nigeria and individuals who have the interest of Nigerian football to invest in TNFF.

“This is a clarion call to Corporate Nigeria and individuals who have passion and interest in our beautiful game’s development to key into the TNFF project now before foreign investors will take up the entire units offered by TNFF. Already the value of N1 per Unit at the Launch of the Fund has appreciated to N1.02 per unit which depicts a positive future for the League.

“On February 20, 2023, the TNFF Project Director, Nelson Ine,made a presentation to some selected Sports and Business Editors of reputable media organizations in Lagos to buttress the need for Nigerians to invest in TNFF.

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Based on the outcome of the media parley, various media organizations published stories encouraging investors to key into TNFF without further delay. Therefore, this is a reminder to would-be investors that their attention is needed now the investment window is still open.

“Every investor in TNFF has nothing to fear because the fund has been so uniquely designed for safety, provides a win-win situation for the investors, stakeholders and enhances the development of our beautiful game in Nigeria.

“For the records, TNFF is a Specialized Collective Investment Scheme that combines the regular advantages of a mutual fund with the unique propositions of a structured fund. TNFF is raising N5 billion through an initial public offering of 5.0 billion units at N1 per unit. The minimum subscription to the fund is 100,000 units or in multiples of N100,000 units thereafter,” Ekejiuba concluded.

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Nigerian Football

Season’s first win for Akwa United and Ikorodu City

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The miserable run of Akwa United and Ikorodu City came to an end after six games in the Nigerian Premier League this season. Both teams were initially glued at the bottom of the league table.

They now got respite as Akwa United beat Kano Pillar by 2-0 while Ikorodu City even did what could be considered an upset, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0.

Remo Stars bounced back to the top of the log after a 3-0 defeat of Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars are yet to get their rhythm this season, playing a barren draw with Enyimba in Ibadan.

Kwara United who got their first full points of the season last week after a 1-0 defeat of Remo Stars could not consolidate as they were beaten 1-0 by Abia Warriors.

Heartland under Emmanuel Amuneke are gradually recovering as they got a valuable away draw against El-Kanemi Warriors.

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Nigerian Football

Behold! Nigeria Football’s October 8 Magic

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Nigeria’s Godwin Iwelumo terrorising Egypt’s goalmouth 47 years ago in an October 8 match. Nigeria won 4-0 inflicting the worst ever defeat on Egypt in a World Cup qualifier.

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

It is 75 years since Nigeria’s national football team first played an international match. That was on 8 October 1949 when the first set of Nigeria’s assembly on their return voyage stopped over in Freetown and engaged Sierra Leone in an international football match. Nigeria won 2-0, setting a chain of positive results on 8 October.

 The country never lost any competitive duel on that date. More significantly, the Super Eagles first qualified for the World Cup on an 8 October date.

 That was in 1993 when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in the quest for USA ‘94 World Cup.

 Nigeria became the first English-speaking African country to qualify for the World Cup. Another significance of the October 8 match at the July 5 Stadium, Algiers is that Nigeria were unbeaten for the first time by Algeria at home.

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 The only deviation from the 8 October Magic was in 2015 when Nigeria lost 2-0 to Congo in a friendly match.

 Twenty-six years after Nigeria’s debut international match, one of Africa’s biggest football nations, Egypt fell to the October 8 magic, losing 4-0 to Nigeria in the last stage of the triangular World Cup qualifying series for Argentina ’78.

Up till October 15, 2013, when Ghana beat Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi, the October 8, 1977 duel with Nigeria remained Egypt’s biggest loss in a World Cup qualifying match.

 Before the 1977 duel, Nigeria in 1963 played a friendly match with Liberia in Monrovia. The October 8 magic was active, even in an away match. Nigeria drew 2-2 in their very first encounter with Liberia. It was shortly after the team had,  through a protest, upturned a victory by Guinea to pick Nigeria’s very first African Nations’ Cup ticket.

Little wonder then that when FIFA suspended Nigeria in 2010, the world governing body provisionally lifted the ban on October 8!

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Nigeria on 8 October

  • 1949 – Freetown (Friendly) Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria
  • 1963 – Monrovia (Friendly) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
  • 1977 – Lagos (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
  • 1993 – Algiers (World Cup qualifier) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria… qualify for USA ‘94.
  • 2005 – Abuja (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
  • 2010 – FIFA, in apparent respect to the 8 October magic, provisionally lifted a ban imposed on   Nigeria.
  • 2011 – Abuja (African Nations Cup qualifier) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea. Although undefeated, Nigeria failed to make it to the 2012 African Nations Cup.  
  • 2015 – D.R. Congo beat Nigeria 2-0 in Visé, Belgium. The ‘October 8 Magic’ is finally broken.
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Nigerian Football

 Rivers flow to the top!

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Rivers United have launched themselves to the top of the log at the end of the match day 5 of the Nigeria Premier League. The Port Harcourt side beat Akwa United 2-1 to go afloat after initial leaders, Remo Stars crumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Kwara United in Ilorin on Sunday.

It was Remo Stars’ first defeat in the season. Rivers United are now with 13 points. Stephen Mayo put Rivers United ahead after  31 minutes. But it turned a temporary lead as Akwa United bounced back almost at the blast of the referee’s whistle for the second half.  

Friday Apollos levelled up for Akwa United before Ndifreke Effiong Udo scored the winner in the 85th minute.

Sunday Results

  • Kwara United 1-0 Remo Stars
  • Rangers International 1-0 Abia Warriors
  • Heartland FC 2-0 Niger Tornadoes
  •  Kano Pillars 2-0 Sunshine Stars
  • Plateau United 1-0 Ikorodu City
  •  Rivers United 2-1 Akwa United
  •  Enyimba 3-0 Katsina United* Suspended
  •  Nasarawa 0-0 Bayelsa United

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