Foremost African Financial
Institution, Guaranty Trust Bank plc, has announced the commencement of Season 8
of the GTBank Principals’ Cup.
For the past 7 years, GTBank has
continued to promote grassroots football through the organization of the
prestigious Principals Cup competition, which is one of the largest grassroots
competition in Africa. The Guaranty Trust Bank plc sponsored tournament, which
is aimed at actively engaging secondary school students through sports whilst
promoting the values of excellence and fair play, provides a platform for identifying,
nurturing, grooming young and talented players and also helping students work
towards their dream of being world class footballers.
Season 7 of the Principals Cup produced
an exhilarating encounter with over 360 teams competing to be the ultimate
champions of the prestigious tournament. In the boys’ category, Dairy Farm
Senior Secondary School completed a hatrick of championships (after winning in 2012
& 2014) and became the first team to permanently retain the trophy while Ikotun
Senior High School held unto the cup in the girls’ category. About 370 schools
comprising of girls and boys from various secondary schools in Lagos State will
compete in the 2017 edition (Season 8) of the Principals Cups competition.
While commenting on the importance of
education in nation building, Mr. Segun Agbaje, Managing Director, GTBank said
that “Sports and education are fundamental in fostering camaraderie and
discipline amongst youths and imperative to their development. We are therefore
proud to be pioneers of this initiative that provides an avenue for students to
showcase their talents and passion for the game of football whilst staying in
school”. He further stated that “At
GTBank, we will continue to invest massively in youth development through
education and sports in order to help more youth people actualize their dreams.
Over the years, the GTBank
Principals Cup has launched the professional careers of several talented
players. In 2015, Yetunde Fajobi joined the Nigeria U17 Female Team – The
Flamingos- having played in the 2014 edition, where she powered her school,
Government Secondary School Agege to victory and emerged the most valuable
player of the 2014 season. 2012 MVP Steven Odey also joined the MFM FC in the
Nigerian Professional League in 2016, and now in his second season, he scored
the first hatrick in the season and is currently the highest goal scorer.
Guaranty Trust Bank, a youth oriented brand maintains the
lead in providing support for education and sports to enable young boys and
girls explore their talents and reach for their dreams. It is one of the few
Nigerian financial institutions that have maintained a defined Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) strategy, most especially in sports education. The Bank
actively supports in-classroom and out-of-classroom educational programmes,
infrastructure development, students’ scholarship and teachers training across
Africa.
No comments:
Post a Comment