Chief Executive Officer, Premium Trust Bank, Mr Emmanuel Emefienim said it is the right time to start the discovery of new talents in the world of athletics following the exploits Nigeria pulled in the recently concluded World Athletics Championships held in Oregon, United States.
In Oregon 2022, Tobi Amusan broke the world record in 100mh while Ese Brume ended as a silver medalist.
Emefienim, in awe of what Nigerian athletes achieved in the championship, said that sports are an indispensable tool in fostering unity in a highly diverse nation like Nigeria.
The CEO who said this on Monday after Premium Trust Bank was announced as the official banking partner of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) by Nilayo Sports Management Limited, the marketing consultant of AFN, added that the partnership will create a platform where talented youths can be easily scouted.
“It’s a corporate social responsibility (CSR), as the partnership that will help create a platform for the youths to express themselves and enable the AFN to do more for the athletes, especially in the discovery of new talents and supporting them in their training programmes,” Emefienim told the media.
“We have seen sports as a very powerful tool that can foster unity in our diversity as a nation. Whatever can be done to support it, will encourage other private players to key into it and tow the path of Premium Trust Bank.
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“The time is right for us to discover new talents looking at what Tobi Amusan and others did recently. She broke the world record in the women’s 100m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States, and set a new one. Ese Brume did also excel in the women’s long jump, winning a silver.
“We need to unearth some of these talents and the way to do it, is to support the AFN, and the youths and encourage them to discover themselves and make the best of the opportunity available to them,” he explained.
Enefienim clarified that Premium Trust Bank distinctively decided to explore a new concept different from football to create an avenue for youths interested in athletics.
He added, “A whole lot of people are in football and we want to be different from others as we have more youths keying into the different aspects of athletics, and we think it makes more sense to focus is on athletics and not just football.”
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