The third season of the CBF League is now underway, and its unique model of using children’s love of football to increase school attendance and develop their communities is generating a great deal of attention and high-profile support.
As thousands of fans flock to see the children in action across the country, CBF has announced a number of exciting partnerships with companies who see the benefits of sponsoring teams in the league.
Tim Kellow, the Foundation’s CEO, expressed pleasure at the level of interest, “we’re delighted that so many companies want to support teams in our league, they’ve heard of our model and the impacts we’ve achieved and are keen to align their brands with ours. We are still hoping to secure a main sponsor for the league itself, to replace UNICEF who generously backed it for the first two seasons.”
Particularly pleasing for the organization, the CEO noted, has been the support offered by a number of key figures in Freetown who have had the foresight to see that CBF as one of the most popular NGOs in the country and one that will continue to expand over the coming years.
Mercury International was one of the first companies to pledge their support to this unique league by sponsoring four teams, one in each of the four regions where CBF operates. Executive Director, Martin Michael, confirmed the sponsorship yesterday saying “what really impresses us is the continued commitment of CBF to go beyond football and ensure that the young people of this country are attending school and actively engaging with the development of their communities. This approach fits perfectly with Mercury’s own scholarship programme, underlining our long term commitment to education in Sierra Leone”. Mercury’s sponsorship is enough to provide 160 children with school scholarships whilst also funding each team’s costs for the season.
Similar partnerships have been secured between CBF and a joint venture of St Mary’s supermarket chain and Country Lodge Hotel, who are sponsoring a team in Freetown. Tony Shallop, St Mary’s MD, was quick to see what a fantastic opportunity it was to support CBF and the children of the league, emphasizing his desire to improve the lives of young people in Sierra Leone.
Elsewhere Nasser Ayoub continued his long standing commitment to community development and youth education by also committing his Hotel Africanus to sponsor a team. There aren’t many people in Sierra Leone that have helped the surrounding community as much as Ayoub and he recognized that by sponsoring a team he had a chance to extend his support even further through the medium of football
CBF matches take place on alternative Saturdays with community development projects taking place in the weeks in between. The next match day is February 4th at the following locations in Freetown; Approved School Field, Kingtom Field, Parade Ground, Fourah Bay and Stadium Practice Fields. In Makeni; Bishop Comforti and Pastoral Centre Fields, in Bo; New Police Barracks and Pastoral Centre fields and in Kenema; KDC and Islamic Fields.