The Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin yesterday unveiled a historic N50 million sponsorship deal with Sterling Bank Plc for the 2021/2022 football season.
Edo Queens, the female club in the state, also launched their new jersey for the new 2021/2022 season
The sponsorship deal with the bank, the first of its kind in the history of Nigerian club football, saw the Benin Arsenal showcase the bank crested jersey on a colorful event that took place at the Edo State Government House, Benin
Speaking at the ceremony, the Chairman/CEO of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Asue Ighodalo, said the deal is an investment opportunity for the bank, which sees Edo State as a development partner and thanked the Edo State Government for the opportunity to invest in the famous Edo club and pleaded the bank’s commitment to the deal.
“We see ourselves committed as true partners with Edo State, not because I am the chairman or that I am from Edo State, but because we understand the development philosophy of the state, that is why we are committed to the state, it makes investment sense for us at Sterling Bank to invest in the state”, Ighodalo declared.
Speaking, the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki thanked Sterling Bank for investing in the club and said his government on inception knows that sports is about youths and youths is about sports which saw the government creating an enabling environment by re-modeling the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium and building about 20 mini stadia across the 18 local government areas.
Obaseki added that his administration has taken a step further by engaging the private sector in sports development.
He said: For us in Edo State, it is a step further to invite the private sector, what we are trying to do is to introduce a private sector into sports, a new governance arrangement, where there is transparency on how to carry out sporting activities, on how we spend money.
“We first gave you confidence by rebuilding the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium and 20 new mini stadia in all the local government areas in the state.
And today we are showing the world again that we mean sports in Edo by launching and unveiling the new jerseys of the two teams.
The problem we have in sport today in Nigeria is that we are not getting corporate Nigerians to take their brand and support our local teams, but what Sterling Bank has done will go a long way.”
The NFF was represented by its 1st Vice President, Barr Seyi Akinwunmi.
Among the dignitaries at the occasion were Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; his deputy, Philip Shaibu; the Chairman/CEO of Sterling Bank, Mr. Asue Ighodalo; the Coach Austin of the Super Eagles, among others.
