Troost-Ekong holds fan meet in Lagos

 

Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of fans in Lagos on Friday evening, as he hosted a meet and greet ahead of the second edition of his foundation’s charity match, scheduled for Sunday at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan.

The event, held at the Puma store in Palms Mall, Lekki, offered fans a rare opportunity to interact with the Nigeria international in an informal setting, just days before the highly anticipated #PlayForPurpose fixture.

Supporters of all ages gathered in large numbers, many arriving hours early to get a chance to take photographs, receive autographs and share personal moments with the player.

The meet and greet also served as a show of appreciation to Puma, one of the lead sponsors of the charity initiative.

According to Punch, he spoke  after the event, and said the occasion held deep personal and professional significance.

“This meet and greet was great,” he said.

“It was a way to pay homage to fans and also one of our biggest partners, Puma, who’ve been supporting us for two events now. It’s not been easy. They believed in us even before we had the proof of concept done.

“They asked me to come down and I did that with all pleasure. I feel part of the Puma family now. I brought my children, brought my family, and I’m looking forward to seeing them there in the stadium with us this Sunday as well.”

Reflecting on the broader sponsorship landscape and the logistical effort behind the initiative, the former Watford and Udinese defender praised his team for their dedication and the sponsors for their early belief in the project.

“Sponsorship has been good. It’s been a lot of work. I have to say thank you also to the BFA staff and everyone who’s been working on this since January. It’s been six months for us to get here.

“I know people only found out about this event maybe two months ago, maybe six weeks ago, but we’ve been working on this for a long time. It’s not been easy. The most difficult thing is to get people to believe in what we’re doing even before all the names come out.

“This part is easy because now you see what we’re doing and everyone wants to be involved, I’m getting messages from all kinds of people saying, ‘I want to play’, messages from brands saying they want to be involved.

“But a few months ago, when you said you were bringing this to Lagos at this moment in time, you had to get people to believe in it. Now everyone sees what we can do, and we can continue to do that in the years to come,” he said.

Sunday’s charity match will feature an all-star cast of sports and entertainment personalities, including boxing world champion Anthony Joshua, Super Eagles forwards Victor Osimhen and Odion Ighalo, former internationals Obafemi Martins and Vincent Enyeama, as well as popular musicians Flavour, Falz and ODUMODUBLVCK.