FOR the eighth time in the history of the competition, the Abeokuta branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Saturday won the 32nd edition of the CBN Governor's Cup, beating Abuja branch to emerge the 2012 champion.At an explosive encounter played at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, the Abeokuta boys scored three times to Abuja's two in a penalty shoot out to lift the trophy.At the end of regulation time, scores stood at goalless, with the Abeokuta boys proving to be the better marksmen from the spot.Earlier in the third place game, the Calabar branch beat Lagos by four goals to two to clinch the bronze medal.Both teams had scored one goal apiece at the end of the 90 minutes of action.With Saturday's feat, the Abeokuta branch becomes the only branch that had won the trophy eight times since it began in 1981.Speaking at the end of the competition, Governor of the Central Bank, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said the event was a way of keeping the staff keep fit, stressing that the skill exhibited by the players in the field was an attestation to the fact that the bank was not all about work, but also believes in maintenance of sound mind and body through sports and recreation.Stressing that it was the only way to attain set goals, Sanusi, who was represented by the Director of Human Resources Department, Chizoba Mojekwu, said the bank would continue to improve on the competition in the years ahead.He announced a cash prize of N800,000, N600,000, N400,000 and N200,000 for the winners of the competition, second position, third position and the fourth position respectively.There were also trophies, medals and prizes for the winner, best behaved team, highest goal scorer, the most valuable player and members of staff, who were able to accurately predict the winners of the competition.Branch controller of the CBN, Enugu, who hosted the competition, Patrick Okonkwo, while commending the standard of play, disclosed that the competition was rotated among the branches of the bank.He added that the competition kicked off on May 7 on a round robin format with 29 branches including Abuja participating, stressing that it offered each branch the opportunity to meet with the others.He commended the teams for the level of cooperation exhibited during the competition, even as he promised that Enugu branch had begun preparation to enable it win the competition next year.
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