Oceanic Bank International Plc in Nigeria is sponsoring a soccer/football talent search that it feels will not only help uncover great talent for the country’s soccer efforts in the future, but will also help in its goal of supporting sports-related efforts that contribute to the betterment of the country’s overall citizenry.

In an interview in Leadership Nigeria, Mr. John Aboh, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company “noted that across the globe, the United Nations and other global organizations have continued to set up structures for integrating sports as a tool for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) pointing out that in the same vein Oceanic Bank is committed to spearheading the development of strategies and projects that will drive the use of sports, public private partnerships, and human capital development as tools for development and nation building.”

According to the article, “Aboh maintained that the football talent hunt was a corporate social responsibility effort of the bank designed to inspire the “can do” spirit in all the participants and millions of Nigerian youths that will follow the activities of the Reality TV Show.”

You can find the full article at http://leadershipnigeria.com/index.php/news/sports/6967-okocha-unveils-30-finalists and the full press release at http://www.oceanicbanknigeria.com/pressroom/news.php?news_id=990236, with an excerpt provided below.

(Excerpt)

Oct. 5, 2009

Oceanic Bank Football Talent Hunt: 15 millionaires set to emerge

With the camping of the successful 30 players scheduled to begin tomorrow in Lagos in the football reality show powered by the Oceanic Bank International Plc, ex-international, Austin Okocha has expressed hope that the talent hunt project will be a veritable platform to discover talented footballers that the nation will rely on for glory in the nearest future.

Okocha, who was happy at the smooth running of the programme, commended Oceanic Bank for giving him the opportunity to contribute to the development of football in the country. He said the talent hunt offered the opportunity which he and his other colleagues did not get while climbing up the football stardom ladder.

According to him, the uniqueness of the Oceanic Football Talent Hunt lies in the fact that apart from grooming the players in the right skills in football, they are also to be assessed on their character. “We have found out that it is not enough for you to have talent in soccer, you also need discipline to rise to stardom, otherwise, even when luck smiles on you without discipline, you may not last. So we are testing the players both in skills and character” he stated.

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The bank has also concluded arrangements to beam the programme to millions of Nigerians home and abroad as top television stations will as from October 2, begin nation-wide transmission of the activities. The programme also offers viewers´ participation via text messages and other forms of interactive portals have been created to ensure people can be part of the show from the comfort of their homes.