Month: August 2020

Williams, an performed investment banking executive with vast experience developing agencies across the U.S. and Africa, will be primarily based in the league’s Johannesburg office report to NBA Deputy Commissioner andrec Operating Officer Mark Tatum.

In this newly-created role, Williams will oversee the league’s basketball and business development initiatives in Africa and will be accountable for continuing to grow the recognition of basketball and the NBA across the continent thru grassroots development, media distribution, corporate partnerships, and more.
For the last five years, Williams served as the Executive Head of Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), Africa Regions for Standard Bank Group, where he oversaw the strategy, execution and financial performance for Standard Bank’s business with corporate, sovereign and institutional investor clients in 19 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. In this pan-continental role, Williams was responsible for growing a wide range of business lines across Africa, including global markets, investment banking and transactional products and services, and helped lead Standard Bank’s expansion into Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

“Adding an executive of Victor’s calibre and experience is an important step in our continued efforts to grow basketball across the continent,” said Silver. “We look forward to Victor leading NBA Africa’s operations and helping to accelerate the use of sports as an economic engine across Africa.”

“Becoming CEO of NBA Africa is a compelling opportunity to join the NBA – a widely-respected and admired globally-oriented sports enterprise,” said Williams. “It allows me to blend my professional experience building businesses in Africa with my passion for the sport of basketball. I look forward to working with our colleagues in Johannesburg and Dakar to help grow basketball’s commercial and social impact in Africa and on the world stage.”

Williams joined Standard Bank in 2011 as Head of Corporate and Investment Banking for East Africa and subsequently led Standard Bank’s Corporate and Investment Banking business in Nigeria.

Previously, he worked at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was a Managing Director focused on mergers and acquisitions. In this role, he executed more than $5 billion in merger and acquisition transactions and advised senior executives and boards of directors of corporate and private equity firms on mergers, divestitures, acquisitions, joint ventures, recapitalizations and corporate defense.

Prior to Wells Fargo Securities, Williams was Vice President of Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs in New York City, the place he furnished strategic practise to Fortune 500 corporations in all aspects of merger and financing evaluation and execution.

Williams, a dual citizen of Sierra Leone and the U.S., holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and bachelor’s tiers in applied math and economics from Brown University. He is a member of Harvard Business School’s Africa Advisory Board and has additionally served on the boards of publicly-listed companies and non-profit organizations in the U.S, Nigeria and Kenya

Brazil 2019 FIFA U-17 campaigner with the Golden Eaglets, Abba Bichi, has become the youngest Ambassador of the 5 Stars Football and Consultancy.At a vibrant and glamorous match in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Bichi, who this 12 months situated the Abba Bichi Football Academy, the place amateur gamers are groomed, was bestowed the ambassadorial honour because of his contributions to grassroots sports activities development.

Speaking at the ceremony, the management crew of 5 Stars Football and Consultancy had been effusive in their praise of the youngster.A representative of 5 Stars said: “Due to your globally-recognised achievements and contributions to grassroots football, as well as your status representing our country’s team at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil last year, setting up of a grassroots football team, Bichi FC, in Abuja, currently Nigeria’s youngest most influential footballer, we are extremely delighted to name you as an Ambassador of 5 Stars Football.

“Your induction as an Ambassador will help the organisation achieve its goals.“We strongly believe your experience, expertise, network and popularity will enable 5 Stars Football have a positive impact on lives through other competitions and more events you may help our company with.”Responding, Bichi said he was honoured to be named the youngest football ambassador in Nigeria and vowed to do his best to help further the growth of grassroots sports in the country.

His words: “I am truly honoured and blessed to be named the youngest ambassador of 5 Stars Football and promise to give my all for the growth of Nigerian sports.”Reacting to the development, UK-based FA-licensed football agent and international athletes brand expert, Drew Uyi, who also manages Bichi, said he was not surprised by the accolades, awards and recognitions that Bichi has been receiving, given the charitable works he was doing behind the scenes.

Drew Uyi added that “I expect Bichi to get more sponsorship, ambassadorship and endorsements because he understands the principles I am educating him on, part of which is to give to get back in return.“I will usually urge athletes now not to simply compete in their sports, as an alternative compete to have your manufacturer known, which helps to multiply your profitability via branding and endorsements,” Drew Uyi added.

After five months absent, league football returns to South Africa with the resumption of the 2019-20 Absa Premiership season this week.The country has already witnessed the Nedbank Cup semifinals this past weekend, with Mamelodi Sundowns and Bloemfontein Celtic advancing at the rate of Bidvest Wits and Baroka FC respectively, but it is the exciting league race which will genuinely capture the imagination.

All matches will be performed in the back of closed doors and within a Biologically Safe Environment (BSE) in Gauteng to ensure health and hygiene protocols are maintained at all times.Reigning champions Sundowns will get the ball rolling with a clash against Orlando Pirates at Dobsonville Stadium on the nighttime of Tuesday 11 August. It’s a crunch match for the Brazilians, who are four points adrift of leaders Kaizer Chiefs but hold a recreation in hand, and will have some mileage in their legs after enjoying in the cup on the weekend.

“I told the guys if they suppose this is stress, the serious stress is coming on Tuesday,” stated ‘Downs supervisor Pitso Mosimane, who would love to see his facet overtake Chiefs and get one over his counterpart Ernst Middendorp.Chiefs will have an instant hazard to reply to Sundowns on Wednesday when they host Bidvest Wits at Orlando Stadium, though their build-up has been clouded really by way of rumours that Middendorp will depart the club at the end of the marketing campaign – regardless of whether the title is received or not.From Friday 14 to Sunday sixteen August is the first full round of the restart, with title contenders Sundowns and Chiefs away to Highlands Park and Polokwane City respectively.The Amakhosi’s conflict in opposition to Polokwane should also have seismic results on a relegation conflict which sees the backside 4 separated through simply three points.

The key conflict in this regard sees AmaZulu host Baroka in a relegation six-pointer at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday, while Sunday elements bottom-of-the-log Black Leopards hosting Maritzburg United at FNB Stadium in a must-win clash.

Absa Premiership fixtures, 11-16 August

Tuesday 11 August

Mamelodi Sundowns v Orlando Pirates

Wednesday 12 August

Kaizer Chiefs v Bidvest Wits

Friday 14 August

Chippa United v Cape Town City

Highlands Park v Mamelodi Sundowns

Saturday 15 August

AmaZulu v Baroka FC

Stellenbosch v Golden Arrows

Polokwane City v Kaizer Chiefs

Orlando Pirates v Bidvest Wits

Sunday 16 August

Black Leopards v Maritzburg United

SuperSport United v Bloemfontein Celtic

South Africa news page »

ABSA Premiership 2019/20 event »

Former Nigeria national team coach Christian Chukwu says that players in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) should not be neglected by the Super Eagles, or they will continue to go away from the country in masse.

Chukwu argues that most players who emerge in the NPFL take the first danger to leave the local league, believing that they need to be based foreign places to get a shot at playing for the Super Eagles.

Current Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has been over and over accused of ignoring locally-based players when making up his squads, and Chukwu’s phrases solely add further weight to the debate.

“One of the matters spoiling our league these days is that you see a participant in a league match today, and tomorrow, if he is called to play for a club in Afghanistan, the place they are conflict war, he will go. He believes that if he doesn’t go, he can never have the chance to play for the Super Eagles,” Chukwu told The Guardian.

“I still trust we have very right players in the NPFL, if only the coach can stay in Nigeria and start coaching with them. The positions he finds deficient, he can then invite the foreign-based players to fill such because this is how it used to be performed in those days.”

He added, “A state of affairs the place you regulate the invitation of the NPFL gamers to the countrywide camp, but invite the foreign-based players liberally, is discouraging. This certainly will make the league not go properly and even the players again in home now not displaying the confidence to play at home again.

“This is why some players will go to Benin Republic, Ghana and so on to additionally end up foreign-based players. Though I see our current team as being very strong, it additionally has to be a mixture of the appropriate ones from the domestic league.”