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From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
About 1000 athletes drawn from 121 schools are expected in Calabar for the 4th edition of the MTN Champs competition.
In addition to this, over N20 million in prize money has been set aside for schools in this year’s edition of the competition.
Speaking at a briefing, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, Ikenna Emeka, announced that the top four schools at this year’s championship would receive N2 million, N1.5 million, N1 million and n500,000 respectively.
MTN has also introduced a special attendance award to reward schools that turn out in large numbers to support their athletes. The top five schools in that category will receive N5 million, N3 million, N2 million, N1.5 million and N1 million, respectively, while schools placed sixth to 10th will receive N500,000 each.
The competition, which is held in partnership with Making of Champions (MOC), has engaged over 22,000 athletes from more than 1,300 schools across Nigeria in its first three seasons.
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According to the MOC representative, Yemi Galadima, more than 1,000 athletes from 121 schools and teams are competing in Calabar across four age categories, comprising Under-14, Under-17, Under-20 and Senior, featuring nearly 100 track and field events.
Galadima said the championship had become a major pathway for national selection, revealing that about 80 percent of Nigeria’s team to last year’s African Under-20 Championships had competed at MTN Champions.
He added that 30 most valuable performers currently enrolled in the MTN Champs Academy had collectively won 38 medals across the circuit, 14 national medals and 10 international medals within one year of structured training.
Pastor Emmanuel Ebong, who represented the Nigeria School Sport Federation (NSSF), commended the MTN and the MOC for maintaining discipline among student-athletes and tackling age cheating in school sports.
He disclosed that Nigeria would host the next African School Sports Festival in 2027 and expressed confidence that athletes discovered through MTN Champions would represent the country with distinction.x
