By Lucy Offor
PORT HARCOURT – First Bank of Nigeria plans to expand its investment in sports development across the country, Chief Executive Olusegun Alebiosu said on Monday, citing the bank’s long-standing commitment to nurturing talent and promoting national unity.
Speaking at the finals of the 2025 Python Amateur Open Championship in Port Harcourt, Alebiosu said the bank’s support spans multiple disciplines including golf, football, basketball and tennis.
“We’ve been supporting sports in Nigeria for over a century,” Alebiosu said at the Python Golf Club, which hosted the seven-day tournament featuring 300 amateur and professional golfers from Nigeria, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire.
The bank sponsors First Bank FC, a Nigeria National League football club, and the Elephant Girls, a women’s basketball team that has won national titles and FIBA trophies.
It also backs the Lagos Golf Open, now in its 65th edition, and recently supported Africa’s first E1 GP electric powerboat race in Lagos.
Alebiosu dismissed the notion that golf is reserved for the wealthy, saying the sport is accessible to anyone willing to start with used equipment and pay modest membership fees.
“Golf is not a rich man’s game,” he said. “Many players are not wealthy, and some clubs don’t even charge green fees.”
He attributed golf’s limited popularity in Nigeria to poor awareness and misconceptions, adding that the sport offers both physical and mental benefits.
Dr Raphael Onoshakpo, chairman of the tournament’s organising committee, said the event aimed to showcase Nigeria’s golfing potential.
Participants were grouped into categories including caddies, veterans, amateurs and professionals, with winners receiving trophies and prizes such as smart TVs and air conditioners.
Onoshakpo noted a surge in interest in golf following the COVID-19 lockdown, which prompted more Nigerians to take up the sport.
