All is set for the MTN CHAMPS Benin Athletics Classics, which officially sets the ball rolling for Season 3 of Nigeria’s biggest Secondary School Athletics Championships, MTN CHAMPS, and will hold simultaneously across two locations: the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, and UNIBEN Sports Complex, from March 13th to 15th.
In a Press Conference held in Benin, Edo State, on March 12th, organisers of the competition expressed their readiness for the event, which received 4371 Event Entries from 2056 Athletes.
Some of the dignitaries at the event include the Executive Chairman, Edo States Sports Commission, Hon. Amadin Enabulele; Senior Manager Go to Marketing, MTN Nigeria, Osaze Ebueku; Senior Manager, Sales and Trade Development, MTN Nigeria, Olaniyi Alabi; Permanent Secretary, Edo State Sports Commission, Mrs Efe Amanze, and MoC Founder/CEO, Bambo Akani.
Others were the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) Secretary General, Israel Inwang, Administrative Secretary and Athletics Committee Secretary of the Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF), Segun Omodunni, and the Edo State NSSF Co-ordinator, Eigbe Odianosen.
Ebueku highlighted MTN’s commitment towards the discovery and development of world beaters for Nigeria. He said: “Athletics for us is not just an activity; it’s a way of adding back to the community, especially in Edo State, a place famous for the glory of sports in this country from the days of it being called Bendel State.
“MTN is all for spotting diamonds in the rough. We identify talents, support them, help groom them and project them to the world, because that is the only way they can fulfill their potential. We’re happy to be in Edo and happy to have this dream continue. We want to be part of the story where we develop world champions, and we’re confident that collectively, the dream can become a reality.”
Representing the Governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, Hon. Enabulele said: “His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Edo State, believes in grassroots sports, not because MTN is sponsoring this programme, but a part of his agenda, which he has shared with me, is to go into the local communities and to make them world-class athletes within a short time, and this is exactly what MTN is doing. It’s not going to end here, because many of them are going to get scholarships abroad. As the Chairman, we also want to thank His Excellency because the first edition of MTN CHAMPS was in Edo State, and now, the third edition is also happening here, so we thank him for creating an enabling environment.”
MoC Founder, Akani, was thrilled by the number of registrations recorded in Edo State, which doubled the figures produced by the state in Season 1.
He said: “We started this journey in Benin and I’m excited to be back here. When we started in Season 1, we had just about 1000 athletes registered at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium alone, but when this season kicked off, something unparalleled happened. Within five days, we had to close registration as we had 2000 registrants and because of this, we made the unprecedented step of using two different locations in Benin for the first time, so we will be using the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium and UNIBEN Sports Complex as well to ensure all of the athletes can compete in their respective events over the next three days.
“MTN CHAMPS is one of the biggest competitions in the world at the moment and one of only a few to have a competition holding concurrently at two different locations. MoC over the course of the past eight years has produced National Champions, with many of them currently in the US on NCAA scholarships. We’ve recruited 20 athletes into the MoC Athletics Academy sponsored by MTN and they’ve been undergoing training at the Academy in Lagos for the past eight months, so we will get to see how they’ve progressed so far.”
Speaking on behalf of the AFN who are the Technical partners for MTN CHAMPS, Inwang said: “I want to thank MTN for what they are doing for the future of Athletics in Nigeria and in sports in general, and MoC, because one thing about them is the consistency, and we can see that every competition has been spectacular. We are confident in this competition’s ability to produce the next Tobi Amusans, Favour Ofilis and champions who will give us medals at the Olympics, World Championships and the global stage in general.”
NSSF’s Omodunni reiterated the body’s commitment in mobilising secondary schools for the competition: “NSSF is the body responsible for mobilizing the students for this competition and we’re very proud to be in partnership with MTN and MoC for this wonderful initiative. We’re ready to keep partnering with you”, he said.
Three of the 20 Athletes currently at the MoC Athletics Academy in Lagos and discovered at the Benin leg of Season 1 of MTN CHAMPS, Jane Onyeneho, Showers Ushie and Prosper Ushie, revealed their readiness to put up a good show in the city they were discovered in a couple of years ago.
The second leg of MTN CHAMPS, the Lagos Continental Relays, will hold from April 9th to 12th, while the Grand Final will take place in Uyo from April 30th to May 3rd.
