Defending champion (NCS) has been drawn to play against the Nigerian Navy in Group C of the 2012 Maritime Cup soccer competition.
Bolaji Akinola, the Chief Executive Officer, Ships & Ports Communication Company, the organisers of the competition, said on Tuesday in Lagos that the competition would begin on March 27.
According to him, the opening ceremony and the first match of the competition would hold at the main bowl of the National Stadium, Lagos.
Akinola said that a record 16 teams had registered for the competition, now in its fourth year, and had been divided into four groups.
He said that also in group C were the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and GAC Shipping Nigeria Ltd.
In group A were the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), APM Terminals Apapa Ltd, Lilypond Container Terminal and Dominion Divine Freight Forwarders.
The group B he said has Sifax Group, Association of Registered Freight Forwarders (AREFF), Lekki Port Football Club and Blue Ocean Handling Services,.
He added that National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGEFF), Micura Services Ltd, Certified Institute of Shipping (CIS) Nigeria and Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL) would play in group D.
The executive officer said that the winners would go home with N1 million, the runners-up, N300,000 and the third place winner, N200,000.
He said that the aim of the competition was to create a platform for interaction among maritime operators outside their core business environment.
``I hereby appeal to participating teams and companies to see the competition beyond the prize money; what matters most is the participation.
``This is because the prize money, to most of the companies participating in the competition, is insignificant,’’ he added.
Earlier, the Chairman, Lagos State Referees Association, Adesegun Kosoko, who supervised the draws, had advised participating teams to see the competition as a mere recreational exercise and make it injury-free.
Kosoko said that all matches in the competition would be officiated by FIFA accredited referees. The competition will end on April 12.
