2023 African Games Trials: MTN CHAMPS to rescue AFN!
Organizer of the MTN Champs, Making of Champions, says it is partnering with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to run a new senior category of its Secondary Schools competition as the National Trials to select Nigeria’s athletics team for the African Games billed to hold in Accra, Ghana, from 8th to 23rd March 2024.
The opening leg of the Season 2 of the MTN Champs is scheduled to hold at the Stephen Keshi stadium in Asaba next weekend with the cities of Asaba, Kaduna and Port Harcourt hosting the remaining legs.
As part of the partnership agreement reached with the AFN, Making of Champions will, among other things, accommodate 70 athletes for five nights with lunch at the stadium, cater for all technical officials’ allowances for the period of the trials as well as the cost of moving equipment and secretariat to and from Asaba.
The Making of Champions says the AFN has been the Official technical partner at all MTN CHAMPS events since Season 1, officiating at all the events and ratifying all the results for global recognition by World Athletics to enable qualification for major global events such as the Olympics this year.
Meanwhile, the competition is not all about the Africa Games Trials as Making of Champions says it is inviting at least 100 Junior and Senior Secondary Schools in each CHAMPS city to each register up to 10 athletes who can each select three individual athletics events, from which they will also select their 4x100m relay teams.
Mixed schools can apply twice: once for the Boys’ team of 10 and one for the Girls’ team of 10. In addition, Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools should also register separatelyin the Cadet and Youth categories respectively.
According to the organizers, an estimated 2,000 athletes will contest each of the events – Up to 1,500 Youth and Cadets from over 100 Secondary Schools, while 500 Seniors and Juniors can enter either individually or in Teams of up to 20 athletes who can also each enter three individual athletics events.
Each Junior Team may also enter Boys’ and Girls’ 4x100m and Mixed 4x400m Relays, but only using the 20 athletes they have registered.
