Nigeria: MTN Fansconnect Celebrates Passionate Football Fans in Lagos

19 June 2011

It was excitement, gifts and networking galore at the Football Fans Feedback & Interactive Session in Lagos 11th of June. Fans Connect Online Limited organized the invitation-only event for selected online community members of MTN Fansconnect. The Football Social Networking platform www.fansconnectonline.com was recently supported by MTN to provide more digital/online opportunities for football fans in Nigeria to interact, play games, and win gifts (including 32 inch Samsung HD televisions; Smartphones; Cameras; and MTN Recharge Cards).

Chike Maduegbuna, Managing Director of Fans Connect Online Limited, praised the turnout of fans and the support by MTN; “The event was a great success and it was a pleasure to see such a wide variety of people attend. Those we previously only knew online could finally have a chance to meet in the real world to connect on even greater levels. Without our sponsors this event could not have happened and I wish to say a big thank you to MTN who have made this possible.”

At the Feedback & Interactive Session, invited football fans celebrated the fast growth of the community to over 200,000 members all gained through word of mouth rather than large advertising budgets.

The fans commended the user-friendliness of the website, and the cross-platform integration with Facebook; quality of the online games, credibility of the platform, transparency and the customer-centric relationship management. Also, the fans provided feedback on their user experiences and new expectations for the platform into the future.

Kehinde Olaoluwa one of the many fans in attendance summed up the group, “This is the most captivating and interesting website I’ve ever seen. MTN Fansconnect are the best and must keep it up” Another fan Timothy Chinasa stated that the sky would be the limit for MTN Fansconnect in the future, “It shows that Nigeria is growing and good people are bringing good things to the country MTN Fansconnect is one in a million.”

All the fans collectively committed to growing the community to 1million members by December 2011, and fully appreciated lead sponsor MTN and Tom Tom, the world cup sponsor for creating an enabling environment where Football Passion meets Reward.

Highlights of the Feedback and Interactive Session included: Special Recognition and MTN Gift presentation to the Fans Captain and Vice Captain of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Gift presentations were also made, to community members that had married recently or held birthdays on the day of the event. MC Extreme and DJ Sly provided the entertainment at the event.

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