MTN Nigeria Football Campaign Shortlisted For Global EMEA SABRE Award

For its sponsorship of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), MTN Nigeria has been shortlisted for the 19th EMEA SABRE Awards.

The 2023 EMEA SABRE Awards, slated for next week’s Thursday, March 23 in Germany, is put together by Provoke Media to honour campaigns and agencies that exhibit the highest levels of strategic planning, creativity, and business results.

The EMEA SABRE Awards shortlist, which recognizes superior achievement in branding, reputation and engagement, includes approximately 400 campaigns selected from over 2,000 entries.

Nigeria has produced some of the best footballers in the world. Notwithstanding the abundance of talented footballers in the country, issues such as poor infrastructure, underpaid players, poor management of local leagues, and a lack of sponsorships, among others, have prevented the full realization of the sporting potential of the country.

MTN has long supported Nigeria’s favourite sport, having signed a $17 million sponsorship deal with the Nigerian Professional Football League in 2010 and more recently, a three-year N1.5bn partnership with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) on September 2, 2021, making the company the official communications partner of Nigeria’s national teams.

Commenting on the nomination of MTN’s football campaign for a SABRE Award, Adia Sowho, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, said, “Football is one activity that brings Nigerians together. Our collective Nigerian passion for football, inspired our partnership with the NFF to support all our national teams and ensure that Nigerian football remains relevant in the world. We are thrilled to have been nominated for this award; it demonstrates that we have made strides in providing memorable experiences for Nigerians, and we are eager to do even more.”

Over the past 21 years, MTN Nigeria has initiated various football scholarship programs and football camps to aid the development of the sport. In partnership with the English Premier League club, Arsenal FC, MTN launched a grassroots football clinic in 2018, to coach the best young footballing talents in Nigeria. The ICT giant also collaborated with the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) and La Liga to establish the NPFL/La Liga U-15 tournament in 2022, aimed at identifying and coaching the best young football talents in Nigeria.