Joel Ajayi
The President and founder of popular The Pitch Award Mr Shina Philips has described the Nigerian Pitch Award as part of organizers’s contribution toward the growth and development of Nigerian Football, while he saluted the invaluable role the Nigerian sports journalists, particularly the college of voters have played in the success of their events since it’s inception in 2012, (10 years ago).
Speaking during a press conference on Monday morning in Abuja, President of the “Nigeria Pitch Awards” Mr Philips said the Nigerian media have been a key component of the success story, and expressed gratitude for their commitment and dedication all through the years.
Mr Philips expressed that, Nigeria Pitch Award have assured Nigerians of transparency, credibility, and integrity in deciding the winners of various award categories.
He emphasized that the award process is designed to avoid controversy, involving a college of voters composed of Nigeria’s most knowledgeable, experienced, and professional journalists, and an independent collation body.
He noted that creating an award platform that has a unique character of its own was the rationale behind their intentions to birth the idea of the Pitch Awards affirming further that a careful process of bringing together a college of voters of the most knowledgeable and professional sports journalist was in the best interest that will help the award’s decision which has been void of controversy as transparency has been the core value since it started.
“It is with a sense of humility that I specially wish to salute the courage, steadfastness, commitment and dedication of all Nigerian sports editors and journalists who have supported the awards since 2012, we express our gratitude to you for standing by the Nigeria Pitch Awards for the past 10 years”.
“From inception, our intention was to create an award platform that has a unique character of its own; a character moulded by our core values of transparency, credibility and integrity. To achieve this, we have followed a carefully laid out award process which brings together a college of voters comprising some of Nigeria’s most knowledgeable, experience and professional sports journalists and an independent collation body”
“As organizers, I would like to state that we are very proud of and deeply appreciative of our college of voters, and we owe it to you that in the last ten years of the Nigerian Pitch Awards, none of our award decision have been controversial”.
Also speaking was the Director of communications of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mr Ademola Olajire who said what has kept the partnership and the support of the NFF together with the organizers of awards all these years is the transparency, accountability, the integrity as well as the credibility of the voting process—stressing that the award ceremony has really been incredible.
