Nigeria resumes yearly friendly with Ghana

AS part of the provisions of the N1.8 billion contract sealed last week between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and telecommunications giant, Globacom, Nigeria will resume its yearly international friendly with Ghana, the NFF has disclosed.

Nigeria, during the colonial era and immediately after independence in 1960, had a yearly football contest with Ghana (formerly Gold Coast), but the competition was rested in the 1970s owing to logistics problems. But signing the recent sponsorship contract with the NFF at the weekend, Globacom agreed to resuscitate the games for the five-year duration of the new deal.

The friendly matches, to be played in Lagos and Accra beginning from next year, according to NFF officials, will help the federation and Nigerians keep tab with the progress of the Super Eagles.

A source at the federation’s marketing department said yesterday: “Like the much publicised June 1 Guinness the Match, which Guinness brokered between the Super Eagles and their Argentina counterparts, Globacom, which is as at today the official sponsor of football in the country, has resolved to take it as a challenge to match the qualities of any multinational organisation in Nigeria in the area of utilising the product of Nigerian football in advertising and branding of its own products.

“That challenge gave rise to agreement to have the Super Eagles play the Black Stars of Ghana in what may be single-handedly promoted and organised by the telecommunications outfit.” He revealed that Globacom, which also is the major sponsorship partner of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), would also play prominent role in the efforts of the football house to qualify all the national teams to their various international football competitions.