The maiden 5-A-side football competition organised by Premier Cool, a brand of PZ Cussons, tagged ‘Turf Wars’, has ended amidst fanfare at an entertaining final match, in which Fast Five FC emerged victorious on Saturday.
It was quite a relaxed atmosphere before the matches began, as guests were treated to some special comforts which included: Pedicures, haircuts, and other games to get everyone relaxed.
The business of the day however kicked off as the 8 qualifying teams: Fast Five FC, PhotostudioNG FC, Hunters FC, Juniorates FC, Bomb Squad FC, Odd Twelve FC, Old Ladies FC, and Ballers FC, took to the pitch to slug it out.
At the end of the semi-finals, Fast Five FC and PhotostudioNG progressed to the final, while Hunters FC and Juniorates FC faced off for third place. The final match was nothing short of thrilling, as fans were kept at the edge of their seats for the duration of the match. Fast Five FC, who appeared to be the fan favourites, were already down by 4 goals at the resumption of the second half, but they dug deep and took the game to extra-time after 4 quick-fire goals. PhotostudioNG FC soon found their way back in front, but Fast Five got another last-gasp equalizer and took the game to penalties. It was equally a fierce battle, but Fast Five FC emerged champions as they won 3-2 on penalties, completing an incredible comeback.
Important personalities at the event included: Managing Director, PZ Cussons, Alex Goma; Head of Marketing, PZ Cussons, Charles Nnochiri; Group Brand Development and Activation Manager, Vivian Akindele; and other representatives from the Lagos State Football Association (LSFA). The finale also featured popular artistes, Skales and Immaculate, who treated the audience to special performances at the event.
The road to the final involved a lot of painstaking work as 4000 teams initially registered for the tournament. These teams were, however, whittled down to 32 and subsequently to 16 via an online voting contest. These 16 teams then went on to compete in a series of matches for a place in the final that eventually produced Fast Five FC as winners of the competition.
Speaking after the event was Brand and Activation Manager, Busayo John, who expressed her joy at the successful conclusion of the competition.
“We are immensely proud at the manner in which this competition has played out. We sought to reward our consumers by creating an unforgettable experience for them through the Premier Cool Turf Wars event and we are sure we achieved that goal precisely. We identified football as a passion point, but most importantly we wanted to reward those passionate individuals who still take time off work to play and enjoy the game of football. As witnessed in the competition, we have players from all professions you can think of – lawyers, engineers, doctors, and so many others. Football is a cool sport and Premier is a cool brand, so this was a perfect match,” she said.
The winning team took home the top cash prize of N3million, while the second and third-placed teams walked away with cash prizes of N1.5million and N750, 000 respectively. Kunle Ibaru, a Real Estate consultant, who was awarded ‘Most Valuable Player’ of the tournament as well as the competitions ‘Highest Goal Scorer’ could not contain his excitement as he thanked Premier Cool for such a laudable initiative to reward passion for football.
The Premier Cool Turf Wars is endorsed by the Lagos State Football Association (LSFA); the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF); and also proudly supported by SociaLiga, a sports entertainment company that aims to bring people together by creating an ambience where people can network and enjoy fun activities.
Premier has been in Nigeria for over 30 years and recently relaunched the brand with new offerings and variants to provide consumers with the total personal care.
