As part of its corporate social responsibility programme, Skye Bank Plc is partnering with Penya Barca De Lagos Club, the official FCBarcelona Fans’ Club in Nigeria.
Speaking at the inauguration of the club in Lagos recently, the bank’s Executive Director, South South/Retail Banking, Mrs Ibiye Ekong, said the bank and the Barca Fans’ club had a shared commitment and belief in sport as an instrument of promoting national unity, peace, social cohesion and stability.
According to Ekong, despite the diversity of the nation, sport, especially football, has become the foremost unifying force amongst her people. She expressed the determination of the bank to work towards nurturing the existing relationship between the two institutions for impactful results.
Specifically, she noted that Skye Bank shared the fans club ideals of service to humanity, humility, youth development and empowerment, as well as community service, a factor which she attributed to the decision of the bank to go into a strategic alliance with the club.
Comparing Skye Bank’s exploits on the football pitch with FCBarcelona’s success, Ekong said the Bank had a rich and an enviable pedigree as a soccer force in the Nigerian banking industry where its football team had been dubbed ‘perennial champions’ after winning the gold trophy in the annual “Bankers Games” tournament for a record four times.
On the nature of the partnership, she disclosed that the collaboration covered such areas as issuance and co-branding of Penya Barca membership/loyalty cards, Penya Club House, deployment of ATM and Point-of-Sale Terminal (PoS) machines at Penya Club House, advert placement and co-branding at events and placement of bank’s logo on all Penya communication materials.
Speaking at the event, the President of the Board of Trustees of the club, Mr. Leslie Oghomienor, thanked the bank for supporting its activities and for accepting to collaborate with it.
Oghomienor noted that the club will mobilise its members to support worthy causes, empower the youth through programmes in sports, as well as promote ideas that extol the virtues of humility and humanity.
Penya Barca and Unicef representatives who spoke at the event also commended Skye Bank for sharing and believing in the ideals of humility, humanity, youth development and empowerment like the club.