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As part of its corporate social responsibility, HotelNowNow recognizes and supports the organizers of the Mr. Universe Nigeria pageant; Qhue Concepts’ efforts to create awareness for tourist centers around Nigeria and Prostate cancer. To this end a charity football match was held today at the Ocean Crest School, Lekki. It was the Mr. Universe contestants (the Gladiators) versus a cross section of Nigerian celebrities.
It was a slow start as the absolutely mental Lekki – Ajah expressway traffic was in full swing. Peter Elendu and I were on ground representing HotelNowNow. The “Gladiators” were already at the venue, vigorously warming up as we set up. One by one the celebrities arrived and soon the teams were being interviewed by the media crews present.
Among the celebrities were award winning music producer – ID Cabasa, dancehall act – SpyDaMan, Afro hip-hop act – Cash 11, MC/comedian – Prince, Gulder Ultimate Search 8 winner/Actor/Model – Chris Okagbue, comedian/musician/OAP – Emma Oh My God, and comedian/Actor/OAP – Larry Foreman to name a few.
The celebrities were dressed in the white, blue and red jerseys of HotelNowNow while the Mr. Universe Nigeria finalists were in blue. Peter put on the referee’s orange vest, blew the whistle and finally the match which was originally billed for 4pm, kicked off in earnest. I was impressed by the coordination displayed by both teams considering they had never played together before.
The celebrities quickly took the lead with a magnificent goal scored by ID Cabasa who turned out to be the man of the match. Emma Oh My God and Cash 11 were in defense while SpydaMan was the goalkeeper. Together they did their best to thwart the so called “Gladiators” unfortunately they conceded a goal just minutes before half time.
The second half was as fast paced as the first, neither team willing to give in. Several tackles were converted into free kicks and near misses as the sun set in the horizon. By the time the final whistle was blown the score was one all. There was a penalty shoot out to decide the winner and though it was a close call (4-3) the “Gladiators” emerged the victors. If I was still in shape eh…LOL!
It was all in good fun and for a good cause so in the end we still took group pictures and selfies all around.
I want to say kudos to Nigeria’s number one hotel discount site; www.hotelnownow.com, Ms. Bernadette Nwokoro and Qhue Concepts; the organizers of the Mr. Universe Nigeria, for a job well done. Prostate cancer is a very real menace and just like Breast cancer, needs to have more attention drawn to it. The stats don’t lie, it mainly affects men over the age of 50 and your risk increases with age. The average age for men to be diagnosed with prostate cancer is between 70 and 74 years. Younger men can be affected, and you are advised to have yourself examined two to three times a year by a professional.
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