In furtherance of its commitment to grow and develop local talents in the country, Henkel’s WAW brand has partnered with the Taraba Premier League in association with the Taraba State Ministry of Youth and Sports to continue its theme of building local talent in the country and help restructure football activities in the state.
Henkel Nigeria has in recent years been very active in their pursuit to build local talents through various initiatives such as Henkel’s partnership with Nigerian Idol – which focuses on helping young talents shine through music; as well as its Street-Smart Entrepreneur (SSE) programme, which assists unemployed youths to become self-sustaining entrepreneurs.
Taraba State is situated in the North East region of Nigeria. The region is recognized as the poverty capital of Nigeria with over 70% of the population living below the poverty line. Over 2 million people are living in camps after being displaced from one and a half decades of war and terrorism, resulting in an inactive portion of youths with little to no source of positive entertainment.
According to the Managing Director of Henkel Nigeria, the makers of WAW and Nittol range of detergents and soaps, Rajat Kapur, the urgent need to change the trajectory of the region and get the youths fully engaged was why they entered into the partnership to provide employment to football players, coaches, referees, etc., as well as offering a source of entertainment and something to look forward to for the football-loving population.
“Henkel’s purpose is Pioneers at heart for the good of generations, and this is at the core of all our talent development initiatives as we are committed to shaping a purposeful future for the next generations”, Kapur asserted.
The partnership is already delivering results as by the end of the 2021 season, Taraba Premier League was the most structured football league in the country.
“It was a hugely successful debut season with WAW as the major partner. We were able to get a lot of youths off the streets, and there was an improvement in the standard of living for those picked by the scouts as they now earn a basic living.From a Henkel perspective, the visibility received through the various branding opportunities was massive, coupled with the attachment that the locals now feel towards the WAW brand,” AbdulHafeez Hamza, Henkel Regional Sales Manager, Laundry, and Homecare stated.
Some of the season’s successes, according to Hamza include; 20 teams constituting 492 players, 158 coaching Staff, 35 referees signed up for the season; and 380 games played in over 42 weeks with scouts from different parts of the country affiliated with international football academies in attendance at the events to get local talents for export.
Others are 67 players from the Taraba League invited to football academies in Lagos and Kaduna with successful candidates going for trials in North Africa and European junior football clubs, the average attendance per game grew to 3,500 spectators, and ultimately more youths being engaged and taken off the streets.
