The President, Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Tonobok Okowa, has promised technical support for the maiden MTN CHAMPS athletics championships, PRIMANEWS Sports Extra reports.
Over 7,000 athletes and 500 schools are set to compete for over 1,000 medals and 32 team titles at the championships, sponsored by telecommunications giants MTN and organised by Making of Champions, in partnership with the Nigeria School Sports Federation.
The competition, which is spread across three age brackets — the cadets (U-14), youths (U-17) and juniors (U-20), will be held in four cities across the country — Benin City, Ibadan, Uyo and Abuja.
The championship holds from October 12 to 14 in Benin and in Uyo from October 26 to 28. In Ibadan, the MTN CHAMPS takes place from November 9 to 11, while in Abuja it will hold from November 29 to December 1, with the grand finale in Abuja slated for December 2.
“I am the main beneficiary of this championship because there are no proper competitions for these age cadre and MoC has just rescued us from that challenge through the MTN CHAMPS,” Okowa told PRIMANEWS Sports Extra.
“The athletes will look forward to these competitions and will train towards them, because sometimes we lose the athletes between 15 and 18 because no good competitions to keep them going. We at the AFN will give the competition every support it needs.”
On his part, founder, MoC, Bambo Akani, highlighted the benefits of staging the MTN CHAMPS.
He said, “I am pleased that we now have MTN identifying with our efforts to take track and field to lofty heights in Nigeria. This is indeed a monumental turning point in our country’s history in school sports and in athletics. I have the conviction that MTN CHAMPS will unearth and foster athletics talents across thecountry.”