No fewer than 20 teams will jostle for N5 million price money in the 35th edition of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sponsored All Financial Institutions Football Competition (AFIFC).
The tournament in collaboration with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), will kick off today in two zone of Kano and Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The Apex bank made the disclosure in a statement signed by the Director Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Osita Nwanisobi.
It revealed that the preliminary matches of the competition would involve teams, comprising regulators, deposit money banks and other financial institutions that will play each other in two groups of ten (10) each.
According to the statement; “the quarterfinal matches are also billed to hold in Kano and Akure on Saturday, while the semi-finals have been scheduled for Bauchi on December 6, 2022.
“The finals of the competition will be decided at the Pantami Township Stadium, Gombe, Gombe State, on December 10, 2022. The competition promotes unity, harmony, and peaceful co-existence among key players in Nigeria’s financial system.
“The star price is N2 million, other prizes to be awarded at the competition are N1,500,000 for the runners-up, N1,000,000 for the bronze medal winners, and N500,000 for the fourth-placed team.
“The CBN and the NFF had concluded plans to have Mr. Garba Lawal, a former Nigerian International, as Special Guest at the finals. This is to serve as a significant boost for participating teams.
“The CBN, therefore, urged all the teams that are registered to participate actively and exhibit an unrelenting spirit of sportsmanship, adding that it remains committed to making positive contributions to the promotion and development of the game of football by sponsoring the competition annually, which is in line with the Bank’s corporate social responsibility’” the statement read.