(Local Sport)
By: Mohamed Abu Conteh
In recognition of the twenty million Leones support provided to fund efforts related to the Nigeria Women’s T20 International Series hosted in Lagos in March this year, the Female Patriots on Friday presented their third place trophy and three Women of the Match awards won during the cross-border tour to Access Bank, a key sponsor of the trip.
The delegation comprised a cross-section of the female team, the Director of Female Cricket, Madam Elizabeth French; the Female Patriots’ Head Coach, Sara Johnson; and the press.
Speaking at the presentation, Director Elizabeth French said she felt proud about the feat attained and the support given them by Access Bank without which, she claimed, the trip would not have been made possible. “Amid the prying challenges, we made history there. Two of our batswomen batted not out. For this glory, we want to thank you and wish that this relationship would not deteriorate with the test of time,” she said.
On her part, Head Coach Sarah Johnson remarked that before they left Sierra Leone for the competition, they promised to make Access Bank proud. “At the tournament, we exemplified our country in good spirits and projected the good image of Access Bank in pursuit of gratefulness during dire financial circumstances. We want to thank you for that. Please do not forget that the Under-19 girls will soon be in Rwanda,” she pointed out.
In response, the Country Managing Director of Access Bank, Ganiyu Sanni, said part of their corporate social responsibility is to meet the need of society. “We offer diverse support every year. For 2022, we chose sport for the first time because we support health and fitness. I think it worked out well. Thank you for projecting our image in Nigeria. We promise to do more to keep the bond alive,” he added, congratulating the female team, saying that cricket is not very common in Africa and that engaging in such activity will open doors to more young people to join in.
He affirmed that Cricket is something that is supposed to grow on the Continent but is not very popular as a Bank they thought to be part of it and that is why we sat as management and decided that is the area they are going to work on to support Cricket and Support the young ladies to make them very competitive and them better women as the Country grow in Cricket.
He further that this is the first time they are supporting sports generally in the country, and said during Covid-19 they have supported School going pupils in the fight against Covid-19 in the Country adding that the Access Bank has a Sports Club, a Gym in the Bank building. He said when the female Patriots won the third trophy he was super excited and for him, it was a boost for the Bank to support them further in their international outings.
