NATIONAL SPORT DEVELOPMENT: OKUNOWO, HOWARD HAIL CFA

L-R: Marketing Mgr, Promasidor Nigeria Ltd, Abiodun Ayodeji; Captain, Under-15 Team Nigeria at the 2014 Youth Olympics held in Botswana, Toyeeb Gidado Olakunle; and Brand Manager, Dairy, Promasidor, Nigeria Limited, Ifeoluwa Ilesanmi

Ex-Nigerian internationals, Gbenga Okunowo and Franklin Howard have applauded the Cowbell Football Academy (CFA), sponsored by Cowbell Milk, the flagship brand of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, for supporting efforts to develop Nigeria’s youth sports.
They gave the commendation at the final ceremony of the 2017 Cowbell Football Academy Summer Camp held at the National Stadium, Lagos. The training camp, which lasted three weeks, was organised by the CFA, an initiative that is aimed at developing young football talents.

Okunowo, a former FC Barcelona right back, said the Cowbell-sponsored camp would help young Nigerians to develop their talents and attract the attention of football club managers. He urged youths to take advantage of the opportunity provided by Promasidor Nigeria.

“It is very good for young players. It will help them to be good students as football helps one to think very fast. It will help the youths and their future. It is a good chance for the youths. Scouts can easily spot them,” he said.

For sponsoring the talent development programme, Howard described Promasidor, makers of Cowbell Milk, as “a winner.” He said the initiative would help the country to hone the skills of young players and create a pool for the national teams.



Howard, former captain of the defunct New Nigerian Bank Football Team who also served as coach of Shooting Stars, added: “Cowbell has been very supportive. Both managerial and tactical aspects of the programme have been fantastic. Promasidor is a winner because it associates with winners. The company has been very consistent with its corporate social responsibilities.

“It is good that it has started with football. From what I have seen, it may take another step to explore other sports. The good news is that some of the boys will be part of the national junior teams in the nearest future.”

Amid the commendation, the Marketing Manager, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Abiodun Ayodeji said the sponsorship was aimed at building responsible citizens. He explained that the initiative was part of Promasidor’s support for the socio-economic development of the country.

“We are very keen in creating activities and platforms that will provide a total development opportunity for Nigerian children and youths. This is all about total development – whether in academic or extra-curricular activities,” Ayodeji said.

CFA Rector, Godwin Dudu-Orumen said the academy had achieved outstanding records, which he attributed to Promasidor’s motivation and support.

Dudu-Orumen said: “Two products of the academy have played for the Under-15 national team. One of them, Toyeeb Gidado Olakunle, captained the Under-15 Team at the Youth Olympics held in Botswana in 2014.

“Another CFA product, who was given a scholarship, has graduated from an American university, while the Lagos State Polytechnic is currently counting on seven other trainees, who were recently admitted into the school, to help develop its football team. These lofty achievements could not have been actualized without the support of the CFA.”

Ten awards were given to outstanding individuals and teams for their impressive performance during training. Among the prizes were the Cowbell Overall Wining Team Prize, Stephen Keshi’s Prize for Outstanding Leadership, Muda Lawal’s Prize for Most Hardworking participant and Rasheed Yekini’s Prize for Most Improved Player.