Chief Sunday Adeleye, the managing director and CEO of the New Year Mega Lottery Limited, the title sponsor of the Nation-wide League One (NLO), said the reason why New Year Mega Lottery picked up the title sponsorship of the Nigeria’s third tier football league for the next 4 years, saying is a way of giving back to the sector that made him.
Chief Adeleye stated this while speaking with newsmen at the opening ceremony of the NLO24 New Year Mega Lottery opener at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.
“I have been all around sport and the language I understand is giving back to people and the youth. I championed that area where I believe I should give back to Nigerian youth, because sport made me who I am today,’ Adeleye said.
The former owner of Dynamic Sporting Solutions FC (DSS) further stated that the youths can be like him and even surpass his achievements through sport.
“If the youth follow my footsteps and footprints and advice, they can even do better than me. Giving back is not something I have to think or prepare about, it’s something I have to do and I have been doing that,” he stressed.
When asked if the initial four year deal is renewable, he said, “It’s a marriage we just got into and we are looking forward to bettering the marriage. New Year Mega Lottery is not just looking at football but also athletics and other sports because sport development is about funding and support to make it strive and it’s one sector other corporate bodies are not looking at, but we are taking advantage of that because we are born into sport and will continue to do it better in the area of development”.
In the NLO match opener that witnessed a lot of spectators and personalities, Kaduna United lost 0-2 to Yoca Crocodiles in the opening fixture of the NLO24 New Year Mega Lottery.