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Trophy host Eto’o as Castle launches Africa Fives third edition

By Adaku Onyenucheya
02 March 2020   |   3:02 am
It was all glitz and glamour as Africa’s football legend, Samuel Eto’o Fils officially launched the Castle Africa 5s in Lagos on Friday.

Former Cameroun Captain, Samuel Eto’o Fils (left), President General of the Nigerian Football and Other Sports Supporters Club, Raufu Ladipo and Super Eagles’ Former Captain, Joseph Yobo during the launch of the Trophy Five-A-Side competition in Lagos…at the weekend.

It was all glitz and glamour as Africa’s football legend, Samuel Eto’o Fils officially launched the Castle Africa 5s in Lagos on Friday.
 
The high-octane event, which was hosted by Trophy Lager in partnership with Castle Lager, had various guests in attendance from the length and breadth of Africa.
 
The Castle Africa 5s, in men and women divisions, is the biggest amateur football competition in the continent, involving grassroots teams from various African countries where the global brewer, ABInBev operates.

 
Eto’o, a Castle Africa 5s ambassador, in the company of his wife, Georgette Eto’o, was joined at the launch by Super Eagles Assistant coach and Trophy 5-A-Side ambassador, Joseph Yobo, and Alhassan, a Senegalese ex-footballer.
 
Highlights of the event include the breathtaking and energetic performance by the Nigerian Football Supporters Club, led by its President-General, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo and a show-stopping display by a group of acrobats and choreographers, who displayed the flags of the 16 participating countries in this year’s tournament. 
 
At the event, football also met with entertainment as prominent names in the entertainment circles, including Falz and Femi Adebayo, who are also Trophy Lager brand ambassadors, were on hand to lend support for the launch.
 
In her remark, Marketing Director, International Breweries Plc., Tolulope Adedeji said it was a great pleasure for the company and the Trophy brand to host the launch of the Castle Africa 5s in Nigeria considering how much Nigerians love football. 
 
She noted that the Castle Africa 5s has grown big as a developmental football initiative in the continent, the same way that the Trophy 5-A-side has been impacting in Nigeria. 
 
She lauded the grassroots soccer tournaments canvassed by the parent company, ABInBev, which is being executed by Castle Lager in Africa and Trophy Lager in Nigeria. 
 
The event reached its climax as the defending champions of the Castle Africa 5s, the Trophy 5-A-Side team, Scope FC, were recognised and celebrated amidst rousing welcome from the audience.
 
The members of the team, who were visibly elated for being part of the launch, thanked the organisers of the Trophy 5-A-Side and Africa 5s for giving them the platform to showcase their talents and abilities. 
 
The team encouraged the management of ABInBev and International Breweries Plc to continue to sustain the tempo and even raise the bar of the tournament to enhance grassroots football development in Nigeria and across Africa.
 
The 2020 edition of Castle Africa 5s, which holds in South Africa from July 16 to 20, will involve teams from Nigeria, Ghana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Mauritius, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda, Namibia, Tanzania, Cameroun, Senegal, and Cote d’Ivoire.
 
Each of these countries is expected to hold a national playoff to determine the representative of the continental showpiece.
 
After the five days of intense football fireworks among the 16 teams, a winner is decided and then awarded the trophy as the champion of the tournament for this year.
   
Aside that, the two finalists of the tournament will also enjoy an all-expense-paid trip to watch the Serie A classic derby between AC Milan and Inter Milan later in the year, hosted by Eto.
 
Meanwhile, the Nigerian leg of the tournament, Trophy-5- A-side to determine the country’s representative, is to kick off in a few months’ time as more interested teams are enjoined to take advantage by registering for participation.
 
This year’s edition of the Trophy 5- a-side competition, organisers say, will be more robust as teams from 19 states of the federation are expected to take part to further expand its reach and impact.

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