Nigeria Pitch Awards plan big for 10th anniversary
Organisers of the Nigeria Pitch Awards have lined up series of activities to mark the 10th anniversary of the internationally-recognised footballers awards in the country.
Shina Philips, Nigeria Pitch Award President, confirmed at a media parley on Tuesday inside the Lagos Travel Inn in Ikeja, that series of activities had been programmed to add colours to the Awards 10th anniversary celebration.
According to him, a symposium aimed to address the future of football in Nigeria is in the offing while further details would be unveil as preparation for the anniversary progresses.
This year’s Nigeria Pitch Awards will hold at a yet to be announced venue in March 2024, organisers of the yearly event have disclosed.
Phillips said that the voting process will begin on December 4 and ends on January 12, 2024 while the winners would be announced during the International Match Window in March 2024.
Overwhelmed by the success of the Pitch Awards in the last ten years, Philips appreciated the efforts of respected journalists and members in the college of voters who played a vital role in recognising the contributions of distinguished Nigerian football stars home and abroad towards the development of football in the country.
‘ It is with a sense of humility that I specially wish to salute the courage, steadfastness, commitment and dedication of all sports editors and journalists who graced the maiden edition of the awards.
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” To these distinguised editors and journalists we express our gratitude to you for standing by the Nigeria Pitch Awards for the past 10 years. None of the successes the organisers have recorded would have been possible without the support of Almighty God, the Nigeria Football Federation.
“Our determination was to create an award platform built on integrity, credibility and transparency and to achieve this, we completely removed ourselves as organisers from the award decision process, giving organisers zero vote in the entire voting process. The decisions were left entirely to the Sports editors and journalists across the federations. It is to your credit that in the last 10 years, after 480 nominations and 160 winners, there has been no controversial award decision. The Nigeria Pitch Awards owe this feat to you (journalists, our voters and our independent vote collating body – SIAO partners.
“We are delighted that the Nigeria Pitch Awards has come to stay and is now an integral part of our annual football calendar.
The awards were first held in 2013 in Calabar, Cross River State, have honoured hundreds of Nigerian footballers across 16 categories in the last decade, including the likes of Mikel Obi, Vincent Enyeama, Asisat Oshoala and Victor Osimhen.
“The awards platform has created opportunities for footballers, football administrators, managers/coaches, referees, journalists and other critical stakeholders to get recognition and honour for their talent, hardwork and commitment to the development of the beautiful game,” he told the Nigeria Football Federation media department.
“Since the maiden edition in 2013, we have given out over 170 awards to deserving players and officials at award ceremonies held in Calabar, Kaduna, Uyo, Port Harcourt, Asaba, Lagos and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.”
Philips commended the diligence and sincerity that have given the Pitch Awards credibility over the past 10 years.
The Nigeria Pitch Awards are an annual event which rewards the nation’s best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, forward, manager and Nigeria’s overall best men and women footballers.
Other categories include the State with the Best Grassroots Football Development Programme, Football-Friendly Governor, Sam Okwaraji Award for Commitment to Nigeria Football, Corporate Sponsor of Football Award and Football Journalist of the Year for the best Print, TV, Radio and Online journalists.