Over 2000 athletes from across the country have converged on Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, to battle for honours at the MTN Champs Season Three final, which began in the state on Monday.
The MTN Champs Season 3 final, which ends on May 9, is held at the Godswill Akapbio International Stadium on the heels of its successful berth in Benin City, with the Athletics Classics and Lagos (Continental relays) in March and April respectively.
The organisers of the competition said on Monday that the event is featuring 2, 187 athletes from the over 5,807 entries they received from interested athletes.
The breakdown of the participants shows that of the athletes, 464 are in the cadet category, 777 are youths, juniors (426), while 520 are in the senior category.
The organisers disclosed that the Benin Athletics Classics leg of the competition attracted 2,056 entries, while the Lagos Continental Relays saw 2,505 entries for the event, which aims to unveil exceptional young athletes from secondary schools across Nigeria strutting their talents in the four-day show.
MTN’s General Manager, Brand and Communications, Emmamoke Ogoro, said that the dream of having Nigeria on the world stage is a strong vision that the firm wants to accomplish.
She said that the MTN Champs dream was started in 2023 with a few schools, adding that overtime it has grown with over 15,000 athletes across 900 schools jostling for fame and fortune.
“It gladdens my heart that at this event, we are beginning to see people breaking their personal records and having personal bests at the early stage of their careers. When you start having 10 seconds in 100m in athletics, it means you are already on the world stage.
“As we kick off season three, we hope that we get future champions from here. The goal is in the next one year, they should start attending international competitions, and from there, we should see these athletes in the USA or in Mexico, representing Nigeria fully.”
Also speaking on the event, the Country Manager, Making of Champions (MoC), Deji Ogeyingbo, explained that Akwa Ibom State was chosen to host the final because “the goal is to go across all of the states.
“Every Nigerian child deserves this opportunity. There are states that stand out, and Akwa Ibom stands out. We came here in Season One and we knew it was imperative to come here again.”
He applauded the state government for maintaining the Godswill Akpabio Stadium and giving young athletes the chance to compete on a world-class stage.
Reflecting on the MoC-MTN partnership, Ogeyingbo added, “MTN Champs started as an idea. We needed a company to believe in this project, and more importantly, believe in Nigeria and the immense talent in this country.
“From season one till now, we’ve now been to 11 different cities. We’ve made dreams come to pass. We’ve had talents come to compete, talents that never envisaged that they would make this far. MTN Champs is no longer an idea. It’s become a movement.”
