Since Nigeria's national operator, Globacom, took over the sponsorship of the CAF Football Awards 10 years ago, the company has continued to increase the value of the Awards year in, year out.It was, therefore, not surprising that the just concluded Glo-CAF Awards exceeded expectations on all fronts. Most guests were effusive in their commendation of the ceremony which they described as flawless, ornate and intriguing. The venue, Convention Centre of Eko Hotel, Lagos, was transformed by Globacom into a gold and green picturesque haven.A staff of Eko Hotel, the venue of most of Nigeria's prestigious events, was quoted as saying she had never seen an event like that before in the hotel.Everywhere one turned, one was greeted by winking neon lights and dazzling dcor which gave the venue an ethereal ambience. The stage was Gothic architecture personified, and imbued the audience with a sense of grandeur. Some guests from all walks of life started arriving at the venue a day before the Awards fixed for Thursday, January 8 2015.The event day activities started in the morning with a press conference organized to extend Globacom's sponsorship of the CAF Awards for another four years.All the CAF bigwigs were in attendance while Globacom's Executive Director, Legal Services, Mrs Gladys Talabi signed the contract on behalf of Globacom with Mr Mike Jituboh, Executive Director, Special Projects as witness. Besides the CAF President, Alhaji Issa Hayatou, other CAF executive committee members in attendance included Amadou Diakite, Aidoun Jibrin, Kalusha Bwalya, Essam Ahmed, Anjorin Mousharaff and FIFA exco member, Jacques Anouma.The award proper started at 6.30pm with cocktails of choice wine and drinks to put guests in the mood for an explosive evening. This was followed by a sumptuous dinner and performances by the colourful Cirque d' Afrique, Globacom's ambassador from Benin Republic, Zeinab, the Grammy Award winning Soweto Gospel Choir and the legendary Hugh Masakela before the event live broadcast on DSTV started.Celebrated African Humorist, Basket Mouth anchored the session during which Globacom stunned the entire African continent by staging the draw for the grand prize of the Glo CAF Awards Predict and Win Big Promo.The big prize for the big stage, a brand new Mercedes Benz G Wagon, the first of such to be given out as a prize in a promo by any organisation in Nigeria, was drawn by the President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mr Amaju Pinnick and won by a Lagos based transporter.A melodious rendition of Nigeria's national anthem by Omawumi Megbele flagged off the awards presentation ceremony. Wise cracks and witty comments by Robert Marawa and Joselyn Dumas, the anchors punctuated the event.The performances by A-list artistes were bunched into sections. Nabania crooner, Flavour headlined the first set of singers with his highly electrifying rendition of 'shake it' complemented by his beautiful female dancers who wowed everybody with their football designed bikinis and butt gyrations.Guests could not hold themselves anymore as some of them brought out their camera phones to record the spectacle. Flavour was seamlessly followed by the South African iconic musical group, Uhuru that continued the gyrations with a rendition of 'Y-tjukutja' which in Swahili means 'shake'. Thereafter, Hakim and his bevy of belly dancers from Egypt gave the ceremony the Arabian hue with his cheering raising renditions accentuated by traditional musical instruments.Soon after, Globacom's Executive Director, Legal Services, Mrs Gladys Talabi read Dr Mike Adenuga's speech which articulated Globacom's vision and aspirations. Dr. Adenuga's remarks expatiated the theme of the 9th Glo-CAF Awards which is 'Unlimited Passion: Powering Greatness in African Football,' a special celebration of football fans on the continent. This was followed by CAF president's speech which Hayatou delivered in French. He reiterated the importance of the award, detailing how it had motivated male and female footballers to give their best to be rated amongst the continent's brightest and best in the round leather game.Thereafter, Omawumi mounted the stage with the Diamond Platinumz and mesmerised the audience with electrifying dance steps. The Acapella Rhythm.Tap Trio tapped the night away while Diamond Platinumz from Tanzania sang 'sweetie, sweetie' accompanied by azonto dancers who carried the singer aloft. This powerful performance dovetailed into the first set of awards presentation for the night.Algeria was adjudged as the National Team of the Year.
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