By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, Sept 17, GNA – MTN Ghana has launched its SavannahFest 2026, a regional community festival, to celebrate northern culture, reward customers and strengthen the company’s relationships with communities, traditional authorities, businesses and young people.
This year’s SavannahFest will run from September 18 to October 03 in Tamale, and would involve various activities including football gala, music, health outreach amongst other community development events.
As part of the SavannahFest, a Music Concert has been scheduled for September 19 while a clean-up exercise will be held at the Tamale Taxi Station and the Tamale Teaching Hospital on September 25 as well as a health walk and free health screening at Jubilee Park on September 26.
There will also be an inter-community football gala featuring 16 football clubs drawn from communities including Kakpagyili, Tolon, Sabongida and Sanzirugu in Group A, Poyola Fong, Sakasaka, Kanvili and Dungu FCs in Group B.
The rest are Aboabo, Bayanwaya, Nyohini and Shishagu in Group C and Gumani, Zogbeli, Dagbandabba Fong and Lamashegu in Group D.
Mr Richard Asamane, Area Sales Manager, North, MTN Ghana, speaking during the launch in Tamale, said the series of activities sought to strengthen the company’s engagement with communities and customers in the Northern Region.
The launch was attended by footballers and coaches from the participating communities, football enthusiasts, chiefs, sports personalities, a retired referee, community representatives, MTN Ghana officials amongst others.
Mr Asamane said the inter-community football gala was being used as a platform to unite communities, strengthen relationships and provide opportunities for young people to develop their talents.
He said MTN Ghana considered communities and customers as the bedrock of its business, and as part of its 30th anniversary celebrations, was rewarding its customers through various initiatives such as giving away nine Toyota Land Cruiser Prados, cash prizes and other lifestyle and digital rewards.
He said three of the nine vehicles had already been presented to winners in Accra with three others to be presented to winners in the northern sector.
Mr Asamane said MTN Ghana would continue to invest in community development as part of its corporate social responsibility citing some of those interventions recently undertaken in the region, which included digital skills programmes, SME training, Bright Scholarships and the construction of a GH¢9.7 million multi-purpose digital resource centre at the University for Development Studies in Tamale.
Mr Ibrahim Alhassan Jihad, Northern Regional Director, National Sports Authority said the inter-community football gala would provide an opportunity for players to exhibit their talents while contributing to community development and economic activity.
Mr Jihad urged the teams to exercise discipline and control their emotions during matches saying the competition should be enjoyed as a community sporting activity.
He also encouraged the teams to involve chiefs, Imams, community leaders and other residents to give the competition broader community support.
Yakubu Rashid, a player from Sanzirugu, welcomed the opportunity to take part in the competition saying the gala would provide players with a platform to showcase their talents and promote unity amongst the participating communities.
He said the teams were prepared for the competition and would use the opportunity to compete fairly, develop their skills and make their community proud.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade
Writer’s Email: [email protected]