Visa unveils exclusive AFCON trophy viewing experience in Lagos
By Abimbola Mohammed
Digital giant payment Card Company, Visa has brought the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Trophy to Nigeria as part of the ongoing CAF Trophy country tour. The Trophy touched down in Lagos on 14th December as they welcomed lovers of African football in Nigeria for exclusive viewing.
The trophy tour started at the Lagos State Government House and was presented to Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the state Governor, at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, by Andrew Uaboi, Vice President and Head of Visa West Africa, who further reiterated Visa’s continued support for sports in Nigeria.
Visa also extended the trophy visit to its clients, partners, customers, football enthusiasts and members of the press the next day at the Heritage Place, Ikoyi Lagos.
According to the payment solution company, the Trophy Tour event was preceded by the renewal of Visa’s partnership with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), re-establishing Visa’s role as the exclusive digital payment provider at all venues for the upcoming 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Cote d’ Ivoire, including all AFCON tournaments until 2026.
Speaking during the courtesy visit, Mr. Sanwo-Olu said he is grateful to Visa and CAF for choosing Lagos for the trophy tour. “As Lagos State hosts the AFCON trophy, it’s clearly a testament to our commitment to sports development.
“We are a city pulsating with sports enthusiasm and we’re grateful to Visa and CAF for choosing Lagos for the trophy tour. Our support for sports development continues as the excitement builds for this prestigious tournament. Lagos remains committed to nurturing homegrown football talent and sustaining the fervor for sports.”
Mr. Governor urged CAF to integrate indigenous skills and expertise into the competition, enhancing its cultural richness. He reiterated Lagos State’s steadfast commitment to nurturing homegrown football talent and fostering a sustained passion for sports.
Speaking at the event in Ikoyi, Uaboi said: “We are excited to have the AFCON trophy here; this trophy symbolizes the aspirations of a lot of players that will be playing on the football field come January. At Visa we recognize the passion that football brings which is why we have extended our partnership with CAF till 2026. What this does for us is that it gives us an opportunity to bring our clients and many people that are present here to share the experience with us.”
He hinted that those who use Visa will be sponsoring people that use its card to Cote d’ Ivoire to watch the CAF 2024 live.
“Visa will be responsible and working with our partners for some of their card holders will be going to Cote d’ Ivoire to enjoy the spectacle of AFCON. Football is something that we hold very passionately because we believe in the ability to unify people. If you are at the AFCON you will see different people, different nations struggling, fighting on the field to win this trophy but for us it is not all about that but the unification it brings.”
In the same vein, Seun Adaramoye, Marketing Director, Visa, noted that Visa is a company that is passionate about how people feel
“Visa is so passionate about connecting with people and leveraging football as a platform in achieving that. That is why we are all gathered here today. As you all know football is a unifier, it cuts across age, gender, religion, culture. As an organization we are heavily invested in this to help us achieve our goal in terms of connecting with people.
“Today, you have got the iconic trophy here live in Lagos Nigeria; this trophy symbolizes Africa’s pride and also reinforces excellence. At Visa we hope that this trophy inspires lots of Nigerians, especially the learned and GenZ that can actually achieve their goal. Most importantly, we want people to believe in the power of small steps.”
In a separate interview with MARKETING EDGE, Adaramoye responding to the enquiry on the feedback gotten from Nigerians and the value Visa as a brand is expecting from the life time experience, she said: “Our goal is to create deep emotional connections by creating a unique and rare moment of them seeing the TotalEnergies AFCON Trophy LIVE. This aligns with our commitment to inspire individuals to celebrate every small step they take toward achieving their dreams.”
She added that the trophy will be touring across multiple countries in Africa.
The event featured a football panel discussion where professionals predicted the country that will win the 2024 AFCON trophy.
The event came to an end with an amazing musical performance by Mavin’s top-rated artiste, Crayon and an opportunity for guests to experience and take pictures with the Trophy live.
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