Saturday, April 17 will certainly remain a memorable day for Nigerian fans of Chelsea Football Club following a well-deserved victory at the closely-fought FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium in the match with Manchester City Football Club.
While fans and supporters had gathered for a viewing of the most auspicious match of the season at the prestigious Sinatra’ Place, a sports bar/lounge located in the heart of Adeniyi Jones and founded by Segbovwe Amosu, it was a social event of sorts consisting of a mix of true soccer fans, football enthusiasts and fun lovers.
Present at the event were the likes of veteran screen star, Segun Arinze; comedian, Funnybone and many others.
Speaking on the motivation behind the event, President of the club, which is the official and accredited supporters’ club of Chelsea FC in Nigeria, Henry Ifeanyi Chukwuokpara revealed that the event and win was a long time coming.
“Honestly, before COVID-19, we had plans to host events every last game of the month, but we decided to soft-pedal on physical gatherings. This is one of the first in recent times, and I am so excited we emerged with a win. Since we have been coming together to see games, we have always been playing a draw. Today marks our first win watching together, and it is great that it is happening at Sinatra’s Place, our official bar,” he said.
On the reason Sinatra was chosen as the official bar for the fan club, Chukwuokpara revealed, “One of the reasons we chose Sinatra is that the MD/CEO is a die-hard Chelsea fan who is very committed to the club, so it was a no-brainer.”
Speaking on behalf of Sinatra, Amosu explained, “I became an official member almost three years ago, and when I realised a bar was needed to complete the club’s accreditation, Sinatra partnered with them. Today, we host all their events, both the locally conceptualised events and the ones from the parent club itself.
“Sinatra is a lifestyle bar where we host different kinds of events including fashion shows and entertainment events. But sports is key to us, it is an integral part of our vision as a hospitality business.”
Among other things, some of the activities that made for an exciting night were the various gifts and prizes won by different categories of fans, the extra games like snooker, foosball and board games.
Comedy, quality music and excellent food and drinks completed the offerings of the night, all at the club’s expense.