PACE lists features, praises sponsors for contributions to higher institutions league

Apart from the football on the pitch, this year’s Higher Institution Football League (HIFL) has other exciting features that would attract more university students to the competition, the organisers of the league, Pace Sports and Entertainment Marketing Company, have revealed.

Praising HIFL sponsors for their contributions to sports development in Nigerian universities, a director at PACE Marketing, Sola Fijabi said the competition would also include HiFL E-games, Masterclass series 2.0, and a host of other digital engagements.

Fijabi added: “Beyond the physical games, we have other activities that will keep our fans engaged as we create value. Feedbacks on the Masterclass Series with Stanbic IBTC for the 2020 season showed that we were able to build the capacity of a lot of young people that joined the webinars.

“The HiFL E-games, a virtual collegiate football tournament, was another innovation that ensured that our fans did not miss out on the lack of physical games for the 2020 season due to the lockdowns. We hope to sustain the momentum even as we resume play on the field.”

He revealed that HIFL has moved beyond only the football league and is working out modalities for a women version of the competition, just as over 60 participants have gained scholarships from the HiFL scheme.

Head, Content, and Partnership at PACE Sports, Mr. Ikechukwu Nwaguru, said HiFL was attracting more partners locally and internationally even as the league hopes to expand its offerings.

“We sincerely appreciate our sponsors, StanbicIBTC for their continuous support. Also, the league recently signed a sponsorship deal with NIVEA Men and Minimie for the new season as we take the league to the next level. We are glad to have NIVEA Men join our growing family of partners and sponsors who are committed to developing the Nigerian youths and collegiate sports,” Nwaguru said.

Registration is still ongoing for the 2021 season as over 40 universities will compete for honours in 65 games across 20 cities and the event will run for 18 weeks starting from April 19 when the preliminaries will start.