SPARK THE FUN WITH EVERY STRIKE – KEDI NOVELTY MATCH (5.0)

The historic town of Ebute-Meta in Lagos stood still on Saturday, 19th October, 2024, as it witnessed the glamour and grandeur of KEDI Novelty Match (5.0) held at Okobaba Football Field. Both residents and passersby were captivated, watching in awe as the field radiated with KEDI signature blue and yellow colors, setting the stage for the friendly matches.

KEDI Novelty Match, which first kicked off in 2017, is a management initiative designed to strengthen the bond between staff and distributors through a shared sporting experience. The inaugural match was held in 2017, followed by the second season in 2018, the third in 2019, and the fourth in 2022.

This fifth edition was unlike any of the previous ones. It featured a variety of activities, including mini-games where four male teams—Team William, Team Alex, Team Sunny and Team Zion—competed in 20-minute short matches across multiple rounds until a winner emerged. Additional activities included a penalty shoot-out between the non-winning teams from the male mini-games, as well as between the female distributors’ team and the staff team. A captivating football juggling session also took place for selected male players from the mini-games teams. Overall, 50 players participated across all categories.

Although the event was scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m., the football field was already half full by 8:30 a.m., with both staff and distributors. All players took their time to finalize their preparations and make last-minute adjustments, ensuring they were ready for the exciting match ahead.

Top leaders and distributors trooped in from far and near to cheer their preferred team to victory. Some of the Top Leaders present at the event are – Mr. and Mrs. Kehinde Adeyemi, Mr. Ishola Najeem, Mr. Alani Abiodun, Mr. Kingsley Nsirimobi, Mrs. Mojisola Ajimotokin, Mr. Segun Saliu, Mrs. Mosunmola Alabi, Mr. Tosin Adeyi amongst others.

The event commenced at exactly 10:00am with an opening prayer which was done in the Muslim way by Mr. Alani Abiodun after which it was time for the recitation of the national anthem of the two countries represented at the event – Nigeria and the People’s Republic of China. The recitation of the anthems was led by the Disc Jockey who played both anthems with the aid of his sound equipment as the attendees chorused along happily.

After the introduction of the Chinese staff and Top Leaders, the Operations Director, Mr. Roger Luo, delivered a warm welcome speech, expressing his gratitude to everyone for attending this remarkable event. He assured the attendees that KEDI will continue to do everything possible to strengthen the bond between distributors and staff, as this will foster a strong business relationship for the growth and benefit of everyone.

The match kicked off with a 20-minute game between Team William and Team Sunny. After a closely contested battle, it ended with a penalty shoot-out, resulting in a 4-1 victory for Team William. Immediately after, the match between Team Alex and Team Zion began. In the 10th minute, Olumuyiwa Ojemakinde scored the only goal for Team Alex, securing their victory in that category. After which, it was time for the penalty shoot-out between the distributors female team and the staff female team.

The first round was quite amusing, as the male goalkeepers prevented the ladies from scoring. A unanimous decision was then made to replace the male goalkeepers with female goalkeepers, which completely changed the dynamics of the shoot-out exercise. The female distributors’ team selected one of their members – Khadijah Bello, as their goalkeeper, while the female staff team chose – Theresa Jaiyeola as their goalkeeper. At the end of the tension-packed second round, the female distributors’ team emerged victorious, scoring 3 goals against their counterparts, who finished with only 2 goals.

To determine the 3rd and 4th positions among the non-winning male teams, another 20-minute match commenced after the female penalty shoot-out, between Team Sunny and Team Zion. At the end of the match, Team Zion emerged victorious with 4 goals while Team Sunny scored only 2 goals.

Each male team selected two players to represent them in the ball-juggling competition. Team William chose Peter Adegoke and Sodiq Babatunde, Team Alex picked Abdulmumin Salisu and Joseph Agha, Team Sunny selected Kehinde Olalere and Hope Nathan and Team Zion chose Mojeed Tajudeen and Kazeem Adeniyi. At the end of the session, Sodiq Babatunde of Team William emerged as the winner while Mojeed Tajudeen of Team Zion secured second place after which, it was time to compete for the trophy.

Team William and Team Alex battled for the trophy in a 20-minute match, which ended in a 1-1 tie. Nicholas Anigala of Team Alex scored in the 6th minute of the match for Team Alex while Peter Adegoke of Team William netted an equalizer in the 10th minute. With the game tied, a penalty shoot-out was held to determine the winner. After six rounds of penalties, Team William emerged victorious with 5 goals while Team Alex finished second with 4 goals.

At the end of the male mini-games, Team William emerged as the overall winner, with Team Alex finishing second, Team Sunny third and Team Zion fourth. All the teams displayed exceptional skills and demonstrated their readiness with brilliant passes, unmatched strikes, and impressive shots. The intensity of the game was unmistakable.

At the end of all the activities, medals were presented to all the participating teams. Special awards were also presented to some exceptional players in the following categories:

–         Best Player Award was presented by Mr. Michael Wu to Sodiq Babatunde (Team William) & Muyiwa Ojemakinde (Team Alex) and they both got N30, 000 each.

–         Highest Goal Scorer Award was presented by Mr. Mellon Sheng to Muyiwa Ojemakinde of Team Alex who got N50, 000.

Mr. Mellon also presented medals and a prize of N50, 000 to the Female Distributors Team for emerging winner of the penalty shoot-out while the Female Staff Team got medals and a prize of N25, 000 for emerging second. Sodiq Babatunde (Team William) and Mojeed Tajudeen (Zion Team) got N10, 000 each as winner and runner-up of the ball joggling category respectively.

Mr. Roger Luo presented medals and a prize of N50,000 to Team Sunny for securing second place in the male penalty shoot-out. Team Zion received medals and a prize of N100,000 for winning the penalty shoot-out. Team Alex was awarded medals and a prize of N100,000 for finishing as the first runner-up, while Team William received the KEDI Novelty Match Trophy and a prize of N150,000 for winning the match.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Michael Wu, the Sales Manager, congratulated the winning team and thanked all participants for their efforts. He declared all participating teams as ‘Champions’ and encouraged them to approach their KEDI business with a winning spirit, filled with positivity and passion.

Group photographs were taken, and everyone ate, drank, danced, took pictures with one another and left the venue feeling elated, excitedly looking forward to the next season.