Sports
Guinness Promo Makes Sports’ Lovers Millionaires
About ten football lovers and Guinness consumers have won cash prizes of one million naira each in the ongoing promo at the successful launch of Guinness’ Every Minute Made of Black 2.0 Promo.
The promo which was launched on October 1 last year, has gained almost 600,000 massive participation from football lovers nationwide. 443,608 participants have won instant free airtime while 2,496 Guinness consumers won N1, 000 free airtime.
The Brand Guinness Senior Brand Manager, Mr. Kunle Faloye, said it is the organisation’s joy that her consumers not only watch the English Premier League (EPL), but also have a stake in the game and the chance to win great prizes.
According to him,’’ Guinness will continue to boldly take centre stage on and off football viewing occasions; and we have proved this through her partnership with DSTV by broadcasting all the excitement and fun that the EPL brings among football fans across Nigeria.”
Faloye revealed that Guinness Every Minute Made of Black is not just an ordinary promotion but has given millions of Nigerians the chance to get more involved with their favourite team matches, look forward to some exciting football moments, whilst also winning some incredible prizes.
“So far, we have had massive engagement from our consumers at home, bars and football viewing centres nationwide,” he added.
Speaking further on the football promotion, Marketing Manager, Guinness, Uche Onwudiwe, affirmed that the promo has indeed produced 10 MatchDay Millionaires from the weekly grand draw, where two people share N2,000,000 cash reward every match weekend; that is N1,000, 000 cash per person.
While commenting on how to participate in the promo, Onwudiwe said, “Winning in the promo is so easy, consumers are expected to find their minute and code under the crown cork of all Guinness promotional bottles. Then text the code plus selected team’s name to 1759, if the minute under the crown matches the minute a goal is scored by the selected team, then the participant will win N1000 airtime instantly and also qualifies for a weekly draw of N1,000,000.”
Another twist to the football promotion was the celebration of some winners in Abuja on 5th November, 2016, where Ex-Internationals; Jonathan Akpoborie, Coach Samson Siasia, and sport analyst Arafat Aliu treated some of the winners to a football viewing experience truly made of black. The winners not only won N1,000,000 cash prize, but also had the opportunity to meet their adored football greats.
Speaking after receiving his cash prize from Coach Samson Siasia in Abuja, Kurdor Nantim, one of the Guinness MatchDay Millionaires couldn’t express his joy winning in the promotion, and also having the opportunity to meet football legends he respected a lot. In his own words, “I was sceptical and couldn’t believe that I won for real in Guinness football promotion when I was called, but here I am now a millionaire, kudos to Guinness for rewarding my passion for football.”
It would be recalled that Guinness EPL football promo is the first of its kind football promotion in Nigeria. It is a unique consumer promotion that is tied to the EPL, where football lovers have the rare opportunity of being rewarded for every goal scored within every match during the season.
Sports
Qatar, Morocco To Host U-17 W,Cups For Five Years
The world’s Football Federation (FIFA) has awarded Qatar and Morocco the rights to host the FIFA U-17 men’s and women’s World Cup, respectively, for the next five years from 2025.
FIFA has declared that the Men’s and Women’s Under-17 World Cups will now be held annually, starting from 2025. Both the tournaments have been expanded as 48 teams will participate in the men’s edition whereas, there will be 24 teams vying for glory in the women’s category.
This move marks a departure from the previous biennial schedule as it aims to provide greater opportunities for youth players to showcase their skills on the global stage by ensuring that maximum players get to perform on the biggest stage at the formative stage of their career.
FIFA released a statement that read: “Qatar will host the next five editions from 2025, with Morocco the venue for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in the same period. The FIFA Council has confirmed that the FIFA U-17 World Cup will be expanded to 48 teams and be held annually rather than biennially, as part of the governing body’s steadfast commitment to youth football. It was also confirmed that the next five editions of the competition, starting in 2025, will take place in Qatar.
“Meanwhile, the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which has been expanded to 24 teams and will be played annually as from 2025, will be hosted by Morocco until 2029. These decisions followed a global call for expressions of interest in hosting both competitions, with a focus on leveraging the use of existing footballing infrastructure in the interest of tournament efficiencies and sustainability.”
These decisions reflect the growing influence of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in global football governance. Qatar successfully hosted the men’s 2022 World Cup and Morocco are set to co-host the 2030 edition. It must be noted that both countries have elected representatives on the 37-member Fifa Council. Additionally, Saudi Arabia are expected to host the men’s World Cup in 2034.
The 2024 edition of the Women’s Under-17 World Cup will be hosted by the Dominican Republic, commencing on October 16. Whereas, the previous Men’s Under-17 edition in 2023 was hosted in Indonesia after the largest archipelago nation in the world declined to host the men’s Under-20 World Cup due to geopolitical reasons.
FIFA have announced that they have allotted a record $2.25 billion for the 2023-2026 cycle for investment in football development and has insisted that the institution is on track “to exceed its budgetary target of $11 billion for the 2023-2026 cycle”. Germany & Spain are the reigning champions of the Men’s and Women’s U-17 World Cups respectively.
Sports
KDB Not In Belgium Squad, White Unavailable For England
Manchester City midfielder, Kevin de Bruyne has not been included in the Belgium squad for friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and England this month because of a groin strain.
The 32-year-old has also been ruled out of City’s FA Cup quarter-final with Newcastle United tomorrow.
De Bruyne was substituted 69 minutes into the 1-1 Premier League draw with Liverpool last Sunday.
Belgium face the Republic on 23 March and England at Wembley on 26 March.
Manager Domenico Tedesco said De Bruyne has struggled with the injury for the last few matches.
“We can’t take a risk now and certainly not with Kevin,” he said.
“It is better to give him time to recover well at City and then have him ready for the European Championship.”
Following the international break, third-placed City host Premier League leaders Arsenal on 31 March.
De Bruyne missed the first five months of the season with a hamstring injury before returning in January.
“I don’t know if there is a connection to his hamstring injury,” said Tedesco.
“Yesterday(Wednesday) I spoke to the doctor and Kevin and we decided the risk is too great. It is our responsibility to take into account the player but also the player’s club.”
In another development, England manager Gareth Southgate has said he has no issue with Ben White after the Arsenal defender made himself unavailable for selection for this month’s upcoming friendlies.
Southgate said Arsenal sporting director Edu told him that White did not want to be considered.
The 26-year-old has not been selected for England since the 2022 World Cup.
Sports
Racism: Vinicius Jr Urges UEFA To Take Action
Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr has urged UEFA to take action after again being the subject of alleged racist abuse.
The Brazil forward responded to a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, which appears to show Atletico Madrid fans chanting a racist slur before their Champions League game with Inter Milan.
La Liga said it will report the deplorable racist chants to Spain’s hate crimes prosecutor’s office.
“I hope you have already thought about their punishment UEFA,” said Vinicius.
“It’s a sad reality that [it] even happens in games where I’m not present!”
The 23-year-old included the accounts for European football’s governing body and the Champions League in his post, while in a statement, La Liga said it would report the incident regardless of the fact that the match was played in another competition and that the chants took place outside the stadium.
It added, “La Liga is wholeheartedly committed to making football a hate-free space and will continue to work relentlessly to crack down on racism, homophobia, violence and hatred… whatever the competition.”
Vinicius has been racially abused on numerous occasions across Spain over the last three years.
They include Real’s derby win away over Atletico in September 2022, when Atletico condemned unacceptable chants by a minority of fans towards Vinicius outside their stadium before the game.
Last June, four men were fined 60,001 euros (£51,700) and given a two-year stadium ban for hanging an effigy of Vinicius near Real’s training ground in January 2023.
On the same day, three other people were fined 5,000 euros (£4,300) and banned for one year for making racist gestures during Real’s game at Valencia last May.
This season, there have been reports of more racist abuse towards Vinicius as Real played at Sevilla in October, at Barcelona the following week and at Valencia earlier this month.
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