It is All about Creating Educated Soccer Stars
MTN Football Scholar is a youth programme aimed at discovering talents who can combine active football and education at the tertiary level within a scholarship scheme. The project, which is open to students within the age bracket of 14 and 18 years, is a platform for the discovery, nurture and exposure of budding soccer talents who will subsequently enjoy access to scholarship opportunities to soccer oriented universities in the United States and linkages with other international soccer academies.
The programme initiated in 2011, enters its fourth season this year with auditions conducted in the six cities of Port Harcourt, Calabar, Enugu, Akure , Abuja and Lagos. From the auditions, selected participants proceeded to the Academy where they get intensive football and academic training for a period of one month.
The month-long training prepares students for the SAT examinations and training under top Nigerian national team personnel and coaches from top American soccer academies.
Those who succeeded in crossing at this stage played a final football competition in the watchful eyes of international soccer scouts to select top winners. From here, they proceeded to the second Academy, which focus mainly on academics. Here, the participants would receive intensive training on mathematics and English, in preparation for the main SAT exams. Skeletal lessons on football will also be received at the academy. This would run for approximately 4 weeks.
It is now 21 On Board
The maiden edition in 2011 was an outstanding success. Today we have Nigerian youngsters who are efficiently combining education with soccer, in topmost Universities and Colleges in the United States. It has been 21 altogether from 2011 to 2013.
The first edition produced 4, Richard Ochefije, who is currently at the Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut, Abdusalam Oganla-Adbusalam, and Ifeanyi Edemba who are at Knox College in Illinois for a degree in Economics, studying for a degree in Conservation and the Natural Sciences respectively and Anthony Amolo, Berkshire School, in a preparatory academy in Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, in the season 2 of the programme produced 6. The six finalists in 2012 edition, include Precious Ozoh(Holderness School, US) Oyeniyi Adebare(Skidmore College US) Figbe Prosper,(The Loomis Chaffee School, US) Tapshak Augustine (Kiski School US) Ekeh Shadrack (The Hill School, US) and Sampson Isaac (The Masters School, New York, US).
Meanwhile, 2013, 11 finalists were produced. These include, Ifunanyachi Achara, Abimbola Babtunde, Binjo Emmanuel, Oladayo Thomas, Augustine Okoye, Ezekiel Omosanya, Ugochukwu Okolie, David Egbo, Paul Sampson, Wari Isaac and Ahamad Raji, These talented youngsters have also gained admissions to study various courses in US Universities.
This is bringing total of 21 MTN Football Scholar on board. Incidentally, there are another 21 currently in camp in the season 4 four final selection.
The Products Are Already Setting Paces In the US
Today, MTN Football Scholar remains an unprecedented platform where aspiring football have hope of combining football playing expertise with academics. This is done under the sponsorship of the telecommunications giants, MTN, with the candidates ably shown evidence of good football skills and academic capabilities.
The initiative is waxing stronger, yielding good fruits, purposeful dividends and receiving several accolades from far and wide, with young Nigerians travelling abroad to fulfil their dreams of becoming educated soccer stars.
Here Abdusalam Oganla is a good testimony. After his first year at Knox College studying Economics, he was enlisted among Dean’s list based on his academic performance. More relevantly, he founded The Knox Student’s Award Ceremony.
The Message is for You to-Be Better
It is obvious that the initiative is being driven by the company’s commitment to, resourcefully; touch its subscribers’ lives in many positive ways through their passion points. While the brand is fulfilling its brand promise of enriching life it has also ensured that they make the people happier with what they believe and associate with.
Speaking on the initiative, the company’s General Manager, Consumer Marketing, , Kola Oyeyemi, said that the company places premium value on its subscribers and nothing is too big to be done for them. “Our subscribers are the reason we are in business, it is an undeniable fact that we are committed to a brand’s philosophy of enriching the lives of consumers, so MTN Football Scholar is one of these ways. It is an initiative that is established to nurture young footballers who can combine education and sports, with the hope that after their football career they can still practise whatever they study in school. Today a good number of our young people are benefiting from this initiative and they will continue to increase”, he assured.
This initiative has also been endorsed one time or the other by an array of Nigerian ex-internationals which include Segun Odegbami, Mutiu Adepoju, Pter Rufai, Friday Ekpo, Austin Eguavoen, Henry Nwosu, Joe Erico, Taribo West among Others.