Nigerian Cricket Federation::...

INDOMIE SPLASHES =N=12.5M ON SCHOOLS CRICKET | (2008-11-01 )

The De-United Foods Industries Limited(DUFIL) makers of

Indomie yesterday made good their pledge to partner with

the Nigeria Cricket Federation(NCF) by splashing =N=12.5m

on a National Secondary Schools cricket Championship that

will commence next month.

Revealing this to the Press at a media event to proclaim the

sponsorship, Tope Ashiwaju, Head of Corporate Affairs at Dufil

presented a symbolic cheque to the President of the NCF,

Kwesi Sagoe at a well-attended ceremony. The tournament

is expected to involve 64 schools at the first instance over fouteen

states divided into 6 zones with Lagos and Ogun states having

zones of their own with an allocationof 10 schools each.

The media event was attended by Ewa Henshaw, 2nd NCF

Vice-President, Chuma Anosike, NCF Board member, Adokiye

Dans, NCF Secretary, and the following states cricket chairmen,

George Wiltshire(Lagos), Ladipo Idowu(Ogun), Okon Ukpong(Oyo),

Chuma Anosike(Anambra) and James Okwara(Abia).

Other cricket stalwarts who attended were Tunde Akinleye, Chairman,

Club Cricket Committee(CCC), Debola Ogunshina(Co-ordinator GCIOB),

Barnaby Ephraim(Tournament Co-ordinator, CCC), Joseph Eshua(ACUSN),

and Olisa Egwuatu(ICC North-West Africa Regional Deveopment Co-ordinator)

as well as Ese Onosode, CEO, FSDH Securities.

Tope Ashiwaju restated DUFIL's commitment to the sponsor ship

confirmingthat the sponsorship will be a continuous one which they

hope would be expanded over the years and that apart from the =N=12.5m

which would cover the NCF's administrative and tournament costs, DUFIL

would also provide branded t-shirts and caps to participants as well as

Indomie products.

The NCF President thanked DUFIL for its partnership and pledged that the

tournament was a most welcome development as the last National secondary

Schools tournament, the NNPC Schools tournament left the calendar over

ten years ago leaving a yawning gap to be filled. He also revealed that the

future of cricket is brighter now more than any other time before as the

country in 2008 will not only have a senior team; but U-13, U-17 and U-19

teams that will provide a supply line to the senior team in future.

He revealed that the U-17 team will next week engage counterparts from

Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Mali and Sierra Leone in the North-West Africa

ACA/ICC regional qualifiers to select a team that will proceed to represent

the region at the continental play-offs in South Africa next year