‘Sterling Bank’ll Develop Grassroots Football  Through NLO’ 

FRANCIS ACHI/Jos

Michael Alli, the Retail Business Manager, Sterling Bank in Jos

Having supported the Nationwide League One,NLO at the just concluded promotion and relegation playoff in four centres of the country , including Jos centre in Plateau state where FC Yarma Light and Kwankwansiya FC of Kano gained promotion to the Nigeria National League, NNL, Michael Alli, the Retail Business Manager, Sterling Bank in Jos has said that the bank knows the power of football and it wants to give back to the society.

According to Alli, football is the beautiful game all over the world and it is very popular in the country that has produced great football talents, stressing that the game has been a great unifying factor in a diverse society like Nigeria and it is very proper for the bank to give back to the community and the society by supporting the growth and development of football especially at the grassroots where the NLO parades over 150 clubs in the league.

“The bank wants to give back to the community and the society. We have specialised desks that concentrates on these noble efforts to help the society. We have for sports, education, health. The bank is playing a very big role in the sports sector and we believe that sports especially football is one of those tools we can use to unite the country and bring out the youths from the streets and make their lives worthwhile. The bank is doing so much developing the expertise in that area”.Alli said.

“Sterling Bank is satisfied with what we have seen in the NLO. We want to support grassroot football through the NLO and the matches i watched in Jos afforded me the opportunity to see good talents that could be developed to play for the country in the future”, he added.

Alli, who revealed that he was a very good footballer at his teenage years, but his parents insisted that he must focused on his education and today he is a banker said that the bank is not thinking of establishing a football club as he stressed that what is paramount is putting smiles on faces of Nigerians as a bank that parades itself as your one – customer bank.

‘We don’t want to have a football club, that is not our idea for now. We still want to partner with some clubs in kitting them with our branded logo. Let these clubs feel our presence in our unique way of helping to develop football in Nigeria.

“We will also support grassroot football tournaments at the local government and senatorial district levels in order to encourage young talented Nigerian footballers and put smiles to Nigerians so that the people we know that as we have pride in ourselves  your one – customer bank, we really give back to the community where we are doing business”, he said.