Leighton Kings wins Charity Shield as Access Bank donates N10m to UNICEF

Leighton Kings defeated Keffi Ponys 10 to 7 to win their fifth Charity Shield title of the Access Bank UNICEF Charity Shield International Polo tournament, which ended at the Fifth Chukker Polo and Country Club, Kaduna at the weekend.

Other winners of the weeklong polo fiesta included Saopolo, Tavia, STL-Titans and Keffi that carted home the Access Bank Cup, WAPIC Cup and the Argentine Ambassador Cup respectively.

The prestigious tournament came to a thrilling climax on Sunday with the presentation of the N10 million donation by the sole sponsors, Access Bank Plc to UNICEF.

The donation was presented by the Group Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe in support of UNICEF campaign against HIV/AIDS pandemic among Nigerian children.

Wigwe, who led other top officials of Access Bank to the grand finale, expressed delight that the Access Bank UNICEF Charity Shield Polo event was achieving its main objective of reaching out to the less privileged children in the society.

Wigwe disclosed that the bank has maintained its yearly donation of N10m to support UNICEF towards its projects for orphans and vulnerable children. Besides, he said Access Bank is continually seeking avenues through which more resources can be pooled towards supporting the children.

“We have been working in Kaduna, in collaboration with Fifth Chukker Polo & Country Resort and UNICEF to elevate quality of lives. We need to do a lot more in support of these orphans and vulnerable children to enable them look forward to a better tomorrow,” he added.

UNICEF Deputy Country Representative, Pernille Ironside, who received the donation, commended Access Bank for the assistance, pointing out that through the donation, UNICEF would be able to provide care and support service to orphans and vulnerable children in focus areas of Kaduna State.