WINDHOEK – Namibia’s banking giant First National Bank (FNB) yesterday once again demonstrated its unyielding support towards the development of local sports, when they threw their weight behind the successful hosting of the first-ever Namibia Annual Sports Expo with a N$150 000 sponsorship.
FNB yesterday became the latest corporate to affirm their financial and material support towards the hosting of Namibia’s eagerly-awaited maiden sports expo, which is slated for September this year.
Receiving the sponsorship at a well-attended presser in the capital yesterday, Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service, Erastus Uutoni wholeheartedly thanked FNB for making a timely and decisive decision to come on board and support the envisaged expo, which Uutoni described as an existing national project which needs everyone’s support.
The upcoming sports expo, Uutoni said, aims to promote and intensively market the country’s inadequately resourced sport fraternity to the various local and international visitors that will be attending the historic expo.
He also highlighted the importance of the expo for the country’s youth, especially the unemployed youth, saying the exhibition will accord youth from all walks of life a golden opportunity to showcase their various products and talents, while also freely networking with various investors and business personalities who might be captivated by their ideas or products.
Also more importantly, the sports-passionate minister said schools and institutions of higher learning will enjoy great prominence during the expo, as students will get much needed exposure and also draw inspiration from the various big international sport stars that will be in attendance.
Speaking on behalf of FNB, the bank’s Chief Marketing Officer, Tracy Eagles said the N$150 000 sponsorship towards the staging of the country’s inaugural sports expo was a demonstration of FNB’s unwavering support of the local sport sector.
Eagles echoed Uutoni’s plea, saying that if fully support by all, the expo is a national project that has the potential to positively impact the lives of the country’s unemployment youth and businesses.
Namibia Sport Commission (NSC) Chief Administrator Freddy Mwiya, who chairs the expo’s preparatory committee, revealed that they have so far received in excess of N$350 000 in monetary and material pledges and more corporates continue to show interest in wanting to come on board.