…Asaba edition to serve as Africa Games National Trials

The second season of the MTN Schools’ Athletics Championships (MTN CHAMPS) is set to kick off in February 2024, with four cities across Nigeria hosting the exciting competition.

This was contained in a statement signed by Country Manager, Making of Champions Ltd, Deji Ogeyingbo.

The event, organized by Making of Champions (MoC) and sponsored by MTN, will feature over 7,000 Athletes and 400 Schools from Cadet (U14), Youth (U17), Junior (U20) and Senior (20 and above) age groups.

The first edition of MTN CHAMPS was held in Benin, Uyo, Ibadan and Abuja from October to December 2023, with hundreds of young talents showcasing their skills and potential in various track and field events.

The statement added that season 2 of MTN CHAMPS will see some changes and innovations, starting with the locations of the championships. Only Ibadan has been retained from the previous season, while Asaba, Kaduna and Port Harcourt will get to experience the thrill of hosting MTN CHAMPS for the first time.

“Also, unlike Season 1 that featured three age categories, the senior category (20 and above) has been introduced to Season 2 to cater to adults who may be in school, university, club, state, national or unattached Athletes, taking the age categories of CHAMPS to 4,” Ogeyingbo said.

That statement added that MoC has continued its partnership with Nigeria School Sport Federation (NSSF) as the Official Schools’ Partner of MTN CHAMPS, to ensure the widespread access and participation of schools and their students across all four host cities.

“In addition, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) will continue as Official Technical Partner of CHAMPS to ensure that all races are electronically timed and all results are ratified for global recognition by World Athletics,” the statement added.

Ogeyingbo also announced that in agreement with the AFN, the first leg of CHAMPS Season 2 set to hold in Asaba, the Delta State, will be used as the National Trials for the forthcoming African Games which holds next month in Accra, Ghana.

The press release also provided the details of the registration process and the eligibility criteria for the participating schools and teams. It stated that MTN CHAMPS is inviting at least 100 Junior & Senior Secondary Schools in each CHAMPS city to each register up to 10 Athletes who can each select 3 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 separately in the Cadet & Youth categories respectively.

An estimated 2,000 Athletes will contest each of the events – Up to 1,500 Youth & Cadets from over 100 Secondary Schools, while 500 Seniors & Juniors can enter either individually or in Teams of up to 20 Athletes who can also each enter 3 individual Athletics events. Each Junior Team may also enter Boys’ & Girls’ 4x100m and Mixed 4x400m Relays, but only using the 20 Athletes they have registered.

Online registration has now opened across all four locations at http://mtnchamps.com/registration. Senior Athletes for the MTN CHAMPS / AFN National Trials in Asaba must also all register via the online link above as well as emailing the AFN at ngr@mf.worldathletics.org with the same details to confirm their registration for Asaba, with the final Entry List of Seniors Athletes subject to standards set by AFN for the National Trials, and to be announced after the registration deadline (by Thu 15th February).

Below is the timetable for the Season 2 of the MTN CHAMPS:

MTN CHAMPS Season 2 Locations & Dates

• MTN CHAMPS Asaba / AFN National Trials: Sat 17th–Wed 21st February ’24 (Registration deadline: Wed 14th February)
• MTN CHAMPS Kaduna: Tue 5th–Fri 8th March ’24 (Registration deadline: Wed 28th February)
• MTN CHAMPS Ibadan: Tue 26th–Fri 29th March ’24 (Registration deadline: Wed 20th March)
• MTN CHAMPS Port Harcourt / Grand Final: Tue 23rd Apr–Fri 26th Apr ’24 (Registration deadline: Wed 17th April)
• Age Groups & Event List for MTN CHAMPS Season 2 (2024)
• Cadet (U14) – Born in 2011 or later AND must be in Junior Secondary School (JS 1-3)
• Youth (U17) – Born in 2008 or later AND in Senior Secondary School (SS 1-3), OR they can also be JSS Students of the same school who are born between 2008 & 2010
• Junior (U20) – Born in 2005 or later (can be in school, university, other team or unattached)
• Senior – no age restrictions
• Cadet (U14) – 12 events (5 individual & 1 relay each for Boys & Girls)
• 4 Track events (100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m)
• 2 Field events (Long Jump & High Jump)
• Youth (U17) – 20 events (9 individual & 1 relay each for Boys & Girls)
• 5 Track events (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 4x100m)
• 5 Field events (Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump, Shot Put and Discus)
• Junior (U20) – 29 events (13 individual & 1 relay each for Boys & Girls and Mixed 4x400m)
• 9 Track events (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 100/110mH, 400mH, 4x100m for Boys & Girls and Mixed 4x400m which is 2 Boys and 2 Girls per team)
• 6 Field events (Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump, Shot Put, Discus & Javelin)
• Senior (no age restrictions) – No. of Events to be decided prior to each Event (38 events for MTN CHAMPS Asaba / AFN National Trials – 19 each for Men & Women)
• 11 Track (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5,000m, 10,000m, 20km Race Walk, 3000m Steeplechase, 100m/110mH Hurdles, 400m Hurdles)
• 8 Field events (Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump & Pole Vault, Shot Put, Discus, Javelin & Hammer Throw)