Firm unveils plan to host E1 Boat Race Fiesta in Lagos

Posted : 04 February 2025

The organizer of the all-electric race boat contest arrived in Lagos on Monday to take an exploratory tour of the state’s waterways infrastructure and ensure the smooth hosting of the event.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu received the event’s sponsors at the State House in Marina on Monday.

The team was led by Marlene Ngoyi Mvidia, Chief Executive Officer of the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), a subsidiary of Afrexim Bank.

Ivory Coast’s former striker and holder of multiple titles in European football, Didier Drogba, who is the driving force behind the E1 sport in Africa, joined the sponsor team. This team also included the Chairman of E1 Racing, Alejandro Agag, and Strategic Adviser, Pablo Agag.

The E1 World Championship is an adventurous sport being introduced to Africa to create opportunities for talented young Africans, especially water sports enthusiasts.

Some of the biggest names in sports who have shown interest in the tournament include NBA forward LeBron James and legendary Spanish former tennis superstar Rafael Nadal.

Sanwo-Olu said that the choice of Lagos to host the tournament presented “another unique opportunity” to tell the Lagos story in a sustainable manner, assuring the organizers that the state was prepared and ready to host the world race boat championship.

The governor emphasized that Lagos was prepared to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the tournament, noting that the state had adequate manpower and infrastructure to accommodate all participating visitors and athletes.

He said, “Our governing vision is not just to make Lagos a global city; we are building Lagos to be an African model city where global corporations can come and take advantage of the opportunities that are available here.

“We are excited about the initiative which E1 Racing Team and other partners are trying to achieve. For us, we believe this is not just your success, but the glory of the African dream.

“We see this as another unique opportunity to tell the Lagos story in a sustainable manner. We are fully prepared and transactions are ready for the tournament.

“I want to assure the athletes and visitors who will be participating in the competition that we are ready, in terms of manpower and infrastructure, to take advantage of all the opportunities that are coming with the project.”

Sanwo-Olu added that, in the past week, the state had also received a team from Formula One, who were in Lagos for an exploratory exercise to study traffic flow and infrastructure in the transportation sector. This, he said, attested to the renewed interest in the state by multinational organizations.

The governor also mentioned that the state was in partnership with the French Development Bank to improve the waterways experience, stressing that efforts were being made to convert state-owned ferries from hydrocarbon to electric boats.

“We are growing and building the city in an organized manner but extremely aggressively, because we see the state as part of the global community in entertainment and innovation. Lagos is surrounded by water and has enormous space that can accommodate the logistics.

“Participants and visitors will enjoy the warmth of our environment and the unique hospitality Lagos offers.”

Sanwo-Olu said the organizers made the best choice by making Drogba an influencer for the tournament, pointing out that the former Chelsea striker had become a household name, not just in football, but also in talent development across Africa.

He said, “Drogba is an inspiration and an icon whose name opens doors,” Sanwo-Olu added, thanking Afrexim Bank and the E1 Racing team for the vision.

Drogba said that the discussions to introduce the electric boat racing sport to Africa began in Riyadh, where his team met with the E1 Racing Team.

The former Ivory Coast international said he was interested in the sustainability aspect of the sport in Africa, stressing that the continent was looking forward to driving positive changes through the effort.

Drogba said, “When we had discussions about the new sport, we said Africa should not be left out. We want to be involved and see how it will work. We are interested in the sustainability part of it because I know our continent is looking forward to seeing the changes we need to implement.

“As a public figure in Africa, I think I can use my influence to make the sport impactful on the continent. Whatever it takes for sustainability, and even for other sports in terms of inspiration, we will use our position to inspire young athletes and even the elders to say it is possible.

“Africa has the best athletes in the world. I believe Lagos is ready to compete in the sport. We have come here to gain the support of the government because we need to start the game and we need to start well. We need to send a message to the world that the competition is here in Lagos, and we can replicate it anywhere.”

Firm unveils plan to host E1 Boat Race Fiesta in Lagos

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