IAG defeat Access Bank in awareness match

Insurers hoist up trophy

An assorted football team of insurance practitioners from various insurance companies on Friday, February 24, defeated Access Bank by 4-3 in a friendly match that ended in penalty shootout. 

An amateur goalkeeper for the insurers saved two spot kicks to give his side a win over the much fancied Access Bank side.  The match, played at the Father Gough sports complex in Manjai, saw both sides fail to take the numerous goal-scoring opportunities created in regular time. 

The insurers had mobilized drummers to add up to their cheering fans but the final touch never brought the much desired goals. The Access Bank team made intermittently wonderful inter-change of passes, coming close on a few occasions, but the insurers put too much fight for them. 

Shortly after the match, which was organized the Insurance Association of the Gambia, IAG as part of the event marking “Insurance Awareness Week” (19^th -25^th February), the insurers coach, Saihou Samba, said the aim of the match was to socialise with partners to create room for better understanding between insurers, bankers and the society.

Mr. Samba, who is the coordinator of the IAG, said they choose to play against Access Bank because “we’ve seen them won trophies”. But we’ve prove to them that we are stronger, he argued.

He thanked his assorted team for defeating the bankers, even if it had to be realised only through penalty shoot-out. 

The Access Bank coach, Paul Kwambana, blamed his team failure to trash the insurance practitioners on lack of fitness.  “We are still getting our team together, they are yet to fully recover their fitness, when we are really fit they (the insurers) are not our match,” Mr. Kwambana, Access Bank head of compliance and internal control said. “I know we are going to meet them again, very soon when my team is really fit and I am quite sure by that time we will not go into penalties.” 

He added that the banking industry and the insurance industry have a lot in common “because we are both in the financial sector” and they are our brothers. We really support their initiative (insurance awareness week).  It’s something that is very important, so we are very proud to be associated with it this year, he said.

The IAG’s insurance awareness week is an annual sensitisation campaign that seeks to further increase the general public’s understanding of insurance and insurance policies in order to lay foundation for building a trusting relationship between insurance providers and the public.  

Author: Modou S. Joof

 

Twitter:  (@Msjoof)

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