THE Attom Foundation, Nigeria, in collaboration with some football players and celebrities,’ will, through a Charity Champions Cup, provide eyecare services for 10,000 Nigerians.
Speaking on Thursday in Lagos during a press conference, the convener of Attom Foundation, Attom Yahaya, explained that the Charity Champions Cup was a blend of sportsmanship and a noble cause, aiming to provide essential eye care services for the elderly in Nigeria.
According to him some of the players and celebrities are Jay Jay Okocha, Didier Drogba, Victor Osimhen, Kenneth Omero, Tiwa Salvage, Peter and Paul Okoye, Asisat Oshoala, Mario Balotelli, Wilfred Ndidi, to mention a few.
He revealed that the foundation began five years ago in memory of his late father, adding that the match would be a team of legendary footballers against Nigerian celebrities in a friendly to be showcased at the National Stadium, Abuja, on June 15, 2024.
“We have been doing this for the past five years. We came up with something to help people. We spoke to our friends who are footballers and celebrities and they are all interested in it and this is the biggest we are targeting,” said Yahaya.
Speaking on the choice of eye care service, comedian, Emmanuel Iwueke, popularly known as Craze Crown, who was a trained medical doctor explained that there was the need to have a medical check on the eyes regularly, saying that the initiative would conduct cataract surgeries for Nigerians and other eye treatments would be available through a mobile eye clinic.
He said, “We have reached out to a couple of schools of the blind across the country and we are planning for 36 mobile eye clinics across all states in the country where you can have eye tests, and cataract surgeries, in Nigeria. People don’t need to travel anywhere to get treated each state will have a mobile clinic which costs $250k each and four have been donated to us.”
Craze Clown said Jay Jay Okocha would be the coach for one of the teams while Kanu Nwankwo would be the coach for the second team.
Another director of the Charity Champions Squad, Stanley Chibunna, also known as Funnybone, explained that the choice of football to herald the eye care service was to draw the attention of Nigerians to the initiative.
“We decided to use football because it is about the only activity that brings all Nigerians together in one place. It is a good tool and our eyes are very important. Attom is also a man of integrity to work with,” he said.
Also speaking, Kaffy, Kafayat Shafau, said there would also be female players, saying the project was endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Sports Development, the Nigeria Football Federation, and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
