From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
No fewer than 784 athletes from 90 schools/teamsare will participate in the fourth leg and grand final of MTN-backed schools’ athletics championships (MTN CHAMPS), holding at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja from December 1 to 3, 2023.
The event at the Abuja stadium will be a culmination of the fourth leg and grand finale of the competition which started in October 12 to 14 in Benin, October 26 to 28 in Uyo and November 9 to 11 in Ibadan.
Speaking at a press conference held in Abuja ahead of the grand finale, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN, Adia Showo, noted that the MTN is excited in sponsoring the program aimed at unearthing and fostering athletic talent development across the country.
In attendance at the press briefing in Abuja to herald the highly anticipated event are MTN’s Acting General Manager, North West Region – Fasa Obazenu, and MTN’s Sponsorship Manager – Njide Ken-Odogwu, MoC Founder – Bambo Akani; MoC Chairman – Engr. Olu Akani; Secretary General of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) – Rita Mosindi, Treasurer of the Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF) – Dr. Oba Funsho Usman, and former men’s 400m National Champion and MoC Athlete Emmanuel Ojeli, one of the CHAMPS Ambassadors.
In her opening address, MTN’s Sowho expressed happiness at the level of competition on display across the first three legs of CHAMPS, adding that she is looking forward to an exciting climax.
“It is the finale week for MTN CHAMPS and it’s been a very exciting few weeks going to different parts of the country to experience Athletics, competition and a lot of national pride and energy from Nigeria’s youth. This has been such an exciting partnership for MTN. We have gotten all that we bargained for and then some, and I applaud Bambo Akani’s vision and the Making of Champions (MoC) team.
“We are also very grateful to the thousands of young persons that showed up across all the events; we witnessed all of their joy, excitement and competitive spirit, and we’re really excited for this finale week,” she said.
Recalling MoC’s sojourn within the Nigerian Athletics landscape in the past decade, MoC Founder, Akani disclosed the circumstances that led to the birth of MTN CHAMPS.
“This has been a journey that started about 10 years ago for making of Champions when we saw that there was a gap in Nigeria and we needed something to fill that gap.
“What is interesting is that we went to Jamaica in 2013 (during their CHAMPS) and filmed a documentary on Nigeria’s history at the Olympics, and what we saw there convinced us that this needed to happen in Nigeria.
“These athletes here have been on a journey for the last two months and we have been on this journey for 10 years, and now MTN has really answered the prayers of all athletes in Nigeria by showing that Athletics has value in Nigeria.
“The numbers we have recorded across the previous legs showed that MTN have touched on something; they have touched on the hunger for competition, and the performance of the athletes has been unprecedented. The quality and quantity of athletes at MTN CHAMPS is something we have never seen in Nigeria.
“We must give a big thank you to MTN for making all of this possible. This is a game changer in Nigerian sports, in school sports history in Nigeria, and I think this is going to be the most powerful game changer for sports and nation building in Nigeria,” Akani said.
In her address, AFN’s Mosindi appreciated the support of MTN in providing a competition of such calibre which has helped to curb the menace of age-cheating by providing three different age categories for the athletes to compete in (Cadet, Youth and Junior). She however appealed to the organisers to incorporate anti-doping campaigns in the course of competition, so as to sensitise the athletes on the harmful effects of doping.
NSSF’s Usman expressed confidence that the athletes would put up impressive performances when the competition gets underway on Friday.
“Nigerian students are talented and well endowed in sports if given the opportunity,” he said. “That opportunity is what MTN is giving to these Nigerian children, and by the end of this championship, a lot of future Olympians would have been discovered.
“We want to thank MTN for providing this big platform for Nigerian children, and I want to believe that this will not be in vain. When the story of the kids in sports, especially in Athletics is told, we will always remember MTN, MoC and all that have played a significant role in this feat.”
Participating schools have already commenced bib collection since Wednesday at the Boardoom of the AFN Secretariat located within the Moshood Abiola Stadium, ahead of the competition on Friday.