Business Olympics: “We are coming like wounded lions”

Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) a sponsor for the 2026 Business Olympics has set its sights on finishing top of the medal table at the 2026 Citi Business Olympics, with the bank declaring its readiness to compete in all the sporting disciplines.

The bank, which won three medals at last year’s competition, said it is determined to improve on that performance and challenge for overall dominance when the event comes off on Saturday, September 26.

Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Wednesday, September 23, Unit Head for Branding and Events at UMB, Peter Hall, affirmed the team’s readiness towards this years competition with high hopes of winning.

“We knew we had competition ahead, so we started doing our plans,” he said.

Mr Hall said UMB considers its participation in the Business Olympics an important part of its corporate social responsibility, particularly because of the role staff wellbeing plays in building a strong organisation.

He explained that sporting activities also provide an opportunity for employees from different departments to interact outside their usual office environment, strengthening camaraderie across the bank.

“The conversation moves from being in the office and your suit and tie. Now we are bonding. We’re having conversations,” he said.

According to him, the event brings together employees who may not ordinarily interact closely, including tellers, operations supervisors, relationship managers and treasury staff, allowing them to work towards a common goal.

On its preparations for this year’s competition, Mr Hall said UMB will participate in all the sporting disciplines and is targeting a clean sweep on the medal table.

“We are coming in like a wounded lion. We are here to end that dominance. It cannot continue in 2026,” he said.

“And so we are participating in all the sporting disciplines, and the target is to sweep and finish tops on the medal table. That is our overall goal for this year’s City Business Olympics,” he added.

The 2026 Citi Business Olympics will bring together companies and corporate organisations for a day of sports, competition, networking and team building under the theme, “Bridging the Gap in Our Corporate World Through Sports.”

The competition, scheduled for Saturday, September 26, from 8:00 a.m. at the Eden Heights Sports Complex, will feature 7-a-side football, volleyball, basketball, lime and spoon, lawn tennis, sack race, tug of war, draughts, chess, scrabble, swimming and the CEO’s Challenge.

The Citi Business Olympics 2026 is powered by 97.3 Citi FM, with support from Channel One TV, and is proudly sponsored by Cargill Ghana Limited, Synlab, UMB, Bethel Logistics and Eden Heights Sports Complex.