54,000 youths compete for laurels as 19th NNPC/Shell Cup kicks off
Jun 15, 2017
Some 54, 000 students from 2,750 secondary schools across the Nigeria are competing for honours in the 19th edition of the NNPC/Shell Cup now holding at centres in 36 states of the Federation including Abuja, in the biggest youth football championship in Nigeria.
“This is another opportunity for young football talents to develop their dreams while still studying, and another platform for Nigeria to tap into a potential pool of top-class players,” said Osagie Okunbor, Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) and Country Chair Shell Companies in Nigeria.
NNPC/Shell Cup 2017 began with the preliminaries in May with state competitions which were concluded early June, paving the way for the zonal stage and quarter finals. Coaches from the current Dutch League champion, Feyenoord Rotterdam will hold coaching clinics as part of the process for the semi-final and final matches which are planned for end June. Feyenoord Rotterdam is expected to improve the skills of the coaches, games masters and players bringing to bear their award-winning global youth football academy programme.
A total of N8.2 million will be awarded for the development of sports facilities in the top four schools with the 1st place winner receiving N3.5m. In addition, the two Most Valuable Players will head to The Netherlands for a short stint with the Feyenoord Rotterdam Youth Academy. And, on completion of secondary education, the top 10 talents will be eligible to compete for NNPC/Shell university undergraduate scholarships.
Former Nigerian international and NNPC/Shell Cup consultant, Segun Odegbami said: “Aside the monetary rewards, many young footballers have been discovered through this championship and they have gone on to represent the country in age-group football tournaments. Several have graduated to the Under-23 team and then on to the Super Eagles level. Professional clubs in Nigeria and overseas have often used the platform of the NNPC/Shell Cup to scout for talents for their teams. In a way, everybody is a winner in this football tournament.”
The NNPC/Shell Cup tournament was initiated in 1998 by the SPDC Joint Venture comprising the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria, and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company. A notable success in the 19 years of the tournament is the reduction in the number of students who have successfully combined their education even as they prepare for a rewarding career in football.
Bamidele Odugbesan
Shell Spokesperson, Nigeria
+234 80702 28045
Note to editors
Recent examples of the NNPC/Shell Cup successes include Idowu Akinjide who wore Number 4 jersey for National College, Ughelli in the 2012 NNPC/Shell Cup edition and wore the same Number 4 for the Golden Eaglets team that won the 2013 FIFA Under-17 tournament in the United Arab Emirate.
Ejike Uzoenyi represented Global Secondary School, Onitsha at the 2002 NNPC/Shell Cup. In 2003, he was part of the NNPC/Shell Cup selected team that represented Nigeria in the Ghana/Nigeria academicals; he then went on to represent Nigeria in the Super Eagles team that won the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa and then Bronze Medal at the 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN) where he emerged the Most Valuable Player.
Cletus Itodo; Ajani Ibrahim; Eyimofe Joseph and many others in the Nigeria premier league are products of this championship.
Cautionary Note
The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this press release “Shell”, “Shell group” and “Royal Dutch Shell” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this press release refer to companies over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to “joint ventures” and “joint operations” respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as “associates”. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ‘‘anticipate’’, ‘‘believe’’, ‘‘could’’, ‘‘estimate’’, ‘‘expect’’, ‘‘goals’’, ‘‘intend’’, ‘‘may’’, ‘‘objectives’’, ‘‘outlook’’, ‘‘plan’’, ‘‘probably’’, ‘‘project’’, ‘‘risks’’, “schedule”, ‘‘seek’’, ‘‘should’’, ‘‘target’’, ‘‘will’’ and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell’s products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell’s 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2016 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov ). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward looking statements contained in this press release and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, June 15, 2017. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this press release that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov.