The Unveiling and Rebranding Nigeria Initiative (URNI) organised a novelty football match in Abuja on Thursday to promote unity as Nigeria marked her 66th independence anniversary.

The novelty football match played at the FIFA Goal project pitch of the Moshood Abiola stadium, Abuja, saw City Gate FC trade tackles with All Stars football club.

All Stars FC dominated possession but had to wait for the second half before finding the back of the net; the match eventually ended 4-0 in their favour.

In his opening remarks, Chairman of the Advisory Committee of URNI, Vincent Ugochukwu, said the initiative was aimed to promote unity in Nigeria through sports.

“We have come here to promote unity through sports. Football is the biggest sporting event in the whole world. That’s why we are here to play it today on Nigeria’s independence anniversary.

“Anytime we gather to play or watch football, we don’t remember our different villages and states of origin. We gather as one, Nigeria, and we play to win as one Nigeria,” he added.

Convener of URNI, Abdulkadir Lawal, gave a brief historical background of the initiative.

“We are not a government initiative. We started back in 2007 when some patriotic Nigerians formed a group to promote our people, culture and our country.

“This is the sixth edition of our Independence Day novelty football match. This is because sports is a unifying factor in Nigeria. We want our children to watch and see how united we should be,” he said.

An entrepreneur and patron of All Stars football FC, Nduka Ajeibo, urged Nigerians to contribute to nation-building.

“It is not all about government. You as an individual must do your part in developing the country. This is why I am here to contribute my own quota to my community through football,” he said.

The event featured coaches and ex-international footballers such as former flying Eagles midfielder Istafanus Bala and Assistant Coach of Nigeria’s U-23 team Ortega Deniran. 

(NAN)