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.
Andrea Cambiaso scored at both ends during the first half of Saturday’s Derby d’Italia, before Pierre Kalulu’s red card forced Juventus to play the entire second half a man light.
Substitute Francesco Pio Esposito got Inter back in front with a bullet header, then Manuel Locatelli’s pinpoint finish looked to have salvaged a point for the Bianconeri, before Zielinski struck on the cusp of stoppage time.
Juventus made the brighter start, but they were masters of their own downfall in the 17th minute, when Cambiaso deflected Luis Henrique’s cross beyond Michele Di Gregorio.
Cambiaso atoned within nine minutes, catching Henrique on his heels when Weston McKennie’s cross squirmed through to the back post and applying a side-footed finish.
But after Bremer cleared Zielinski’s dinked effort off the line, Juve’s hopes were damaged when Kalulu received his second yellow card for a 42nd-minute pull on Alessandro Bastoni, though the Inter centre-back appeared to go down theatrically.
Di Gregorio made a remarkable stop to thwart Hakan Calhanoglu, but as Juventus dropped ever deeper, they were punished when substitute Esposito guided Federico Dimarco’s searching cross into the far corner with 76 minutes on the clock.
It looked like Inter would have to settle for a point when Locatelli whipped a wonderful finish into the bottom-left corner in the 83rd minute, but Zielinski had the final say as his 20-yard drive fizzed through Locatelli’s legs and beat Di Gregorio.
A cloud of uncertainty has settled over Liverpool after comments from Hungary head coach Marco Rossi reignited speculation about Dominik Szoboszlai and Real Madrid.
Rossi, who has worked closely with Szoboszlai since his teenage years, revealed that the midfielder’s lifelong ambition is to play for the Spanish giants.
“Because of the very close and direct relationship I’ve had with Dominik since he was a child, Real Madrid has always been his dream,” Rossi said.
For a Liverpool side building around Szoboszlai as a centerpiece of Arne Slot’s project, those words landed hard.
Within hours of Rossi’s remarks, Szoboszlai interacted on social media with two Real Madrid players, applauding posts from Vinicius Junior and Trent Alexander-Arnold following Madrid’s win over Real Sociedad.
His reaction to Vinicius’ post drew particular attention. The exchange with Alexander-Arnold, his former Liverpool teammate, was seen as less surprising.
Still, in the hyper-connected world of elite soccer, even a digital thumbs-up can carry weight. On Merseyside, fans and pundits quickly began dissecting the meaning behind the interactions.
Szoboszlai, Hungary’s captain, has become one of Liverpool’s most influential players. That status is precisely why Rossi’s comments triggered such an intense reaction in England.
The midfielder had just delivered on the field as well, scoring in Liverpool’s 3-0 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield.
After the match, Mohamed Salah heaped praise on his teammate, calling Szoboszlai “the best player in the world.” Slot struck a slightly more measured tone but echoed the sentiment.
“I think there are many elite players in the world, but I definitely agree with Mo that he is one of them,” Slot said. “He is very important for us.”
Szoboszlai is under contract at Liverpool through 2028. However, the club is reportedly eager to open extension talks in the coming months to secure his long-term future.
The player himself addressed the situation recently with notable candor.
“There’s nothing yet, to be honest. Nothing from now on. It’s not in my hands. That’s how it works,” he said. “There’s no progress, but if the right offer comes, we’ll see.”
He was equally clear about his affection for Liverpool.
“We’ll see what happens. Hopefully everyone will be happy in the end. Of course I want to stay. I like the city, I like the club, I like playing with these guys. I love Anfield, I love the fans. Let’s see what the future brings. It’s not my fault. I’d love to stay. We’ll see.”
Inter’s dramatic victory boosted their lead over rivals AC Milan to eight points, ahead of the Rossoneri hosting Como on Wednesday. Juventus, meanwhile, could drop out of the top four as Roma visited Napoli last night.
The last four Serie A matches between Inter and Juventus have produced a total of 21 goals (an average of 5.25 per game), compared to just nine in the previous six (1.5 per game).
Cambiaso became the first player in Derby d’Italia history to score and put through his own net in the same match between these old rivals, but it was Zielinski’s fifth Serie A goal of the season that proved decisive.
Inter will argue they were deserved victors after amassing 21 shots and 1.88 expected goals (xG), while Luciano Spalletti’s visitors mustered 10 shots and 0.92 xG – though the Bianconeri actually attempted six of their shots while down a man in the second half.
Premier League strugglers Wolves overcame resolute Grimsby Town in challenging conditions at Blundell Park to reach the FA Cup fifth round at the expense of the side that eliminated Manchester United in the last round.
Santiago Bueno scored from Wolves’ only shot on target with an hour played, diverting Joao Gomes’ cross past goalkeeper Jackson Smith with his thigh to end the League Two club’s resistance.
Unrelenting rainfall caused heavy ground underfoot and one penalty area in particular- that of Grimsby’s Smith in the first half – was already a quagmire before kick-off.
Charles Vernam shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box with just 43 seconds on the clock as Grimsby sought to catch their top-flight visitors cold.
Wolves had to wait until the 17th minute for their first opportunity of note, forward Tolu Arokodare firing over with a first-time attempt.
The white paint of the pitch markings soon blended and blurred with the mud as the surface rapidly deteriorated, and both sides struggled to stitch together cohesive attacks as passes travelled unpredictably across the sodden ground.