By Jacob Ajom

Seni Saraki, Chairman, ABS Ilorin FC has said that the five-year partnership deal between PUMA, the Global Sports Lifestyle Brand, and his club has the potential of raising the profile of the nation’s football.

From left: Head of Brand, PUMA, Aderemi Adefolami, representative of Senate President and Chairman, ABS FC,Ilorin, Seni Saraki, Kwara state Commissioner for Sports, Ayo Nuhu and Captain of the Club, Samuel Oyedeji at the unveiling of PUMA-ABS FC jersey in Ilorin on Thursday.

He said this on Thursday at the unveiling ceremony of the PUMA-ABS Ilorin FC jersey held at the Palms Mall, Ilorin, Kwara State adding that the partnership involves the provision of kits for ABS FC and sponsorship of the club activities by PUMA.

ABS is the first ever Nigeria topflight outfit to join Puma’s portfolio of club kit sponsorship.

“The partnership is the first of its kind that represents the biggest football kit sponsorship in the history of the Nigerian Football league aimed at growing and developing sports in Nigeria”, he said.

“The partnership with PUMA aligns with the club’s vision for where the club is right now, and where they will be in the future. PUMA is known for delivering top level results whilst being innovative, and this is what ABS Ilorin symbolises”, Saraki continued

He disclosed that ABS Ilorin is currently two years into the six-year plan set out by the current administration when the club was overhauled in 2015, saying that it is massively overachieving as it stands.

In his words: “Whilst we did not project to reach the NPFL till 2018 due to the well-documented difficulty of gaining promotion from the NNL, we have already done that a year earlier and are more than holding our own in the Premier Division against clubs with substantially larger resources.”

The primary end-goal of the 6 year plan is to represent Nigeria at the CAF Champions League, and do so by winning the NPFL. We also aim to promote the ABS Ilorin FC brand not just throughout Kwara State, but Nigeria as a whole, resulting in it being a commercially viable global brand”.

On her part, Miss Aderemi Adefolabi, the Brand Manager PUMA, Persianas Retail Limited said that the partnership is in line with Puma’s commitment to the growth and development of sports in Nigeria.

“ABS FC has shown potentials of being a great club not just in Nigeria, but also in Africa and this has informed PUMA’s decision to provide the necessary support for it to achieve its potentials”, Afolabi said.