The Senior Special Assistant on Media to His Excellency, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, the Governor of Delta State, Hon Fred Edoreh, was on Friday honoured with the Exemplary Service Award on Sports Marketing by the National Association for Physical, Health Education, Recreation-Sports And Dance (NAPHER-SD).
The award was conferred on him as part of activities marking the 51st National Conference of NAPHER-SD hosted by the Delta State chapter of the association at the Business Study Theatre of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba.
The award presented to him by Prof Bode Durotoye, former Director of Grassroots Development at the Federal Ministry of Sports, was particularly in recognition of his contributions to national sports through journalism and media practice, sponsorship marketing and support for the promotion and development of para sports.
Other awardees at the event included Chief Solomon Ogba, former President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Prof Emmanuel Ojeme, past president of NAPHER-SD, Mr Harrison Ocholor, renowned sports broadcaster, Mr Ejiro Omonode of Mastersports and Crown FM, Asaba, amongst others.
In his citation titled “Quintessential Fred Edoreh,” NAPHER-SD recalled as follows:
“In 2018, the Nigeria Amputee Football Team was in dire difficulty. They had qualified for the Amputee Football World Cup holding in Mexico but there was no money for them to participate.
“They had previously failed to attend three successive editions and the international body had threatened that their failure to attend for the fourth time will earn them automatic ban from all international events.
“It was barely two months to the event and the amputees had lost all hope until someone came to their rescue. His name is Fred Edoreh, a proud son of Delta State, renowned sports media practitioner, grassroots development promoter, sponsorship marketer and champion of inclusiveness in sports.
“Deploying all marketing mix and media goodwill, he raised the fund for the Nigeria team to participate in the Mexico 2018 Amputee World Cup for their first time in history.
“In subsequent years he not only further sourced sponsorship for the team to participate in the Angola 2019 and Tanzania 2021 Africa Amputee Football Cup of Nations but became the sponsorship consultant of the Nigeria Para-Athletic Team to the Doha 2019 World Championships as well as of the Nigeria Paralympic Committee to the Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Games.
“Following his activities, he was appointed and honoured as an International Peace Ambassador by the United Nations-Positive Livelihood Award Centre (UN-POLAC), for practical contributions to the inclusion and empowerment of Sports Persons With Disability, proven integrity and commitment to the ideals of altruism, promotion of universal moral values, social harmony, inter-religious and ethnic cooperation and the culture of peace.”
A native of Umeh, Isoko South, Fred Edoreh was two-time Secretary and two-time Chairman of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), a member of the International Association of the Sporting Press (AIPS), several times member of the Media Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation, former member of the Media Delegate Group of the League Management Committee for the revival of the Nigeria Professional Football League, former resource person of the Arbitration Chamber and current member of the Arts and Entertainment Business Development Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
