All government and private secondary schools in the state are once again in for a chance to showcase talents that abound in them in the Akwa Ibom State, NNPC Mobil Producing Nigeria Schools Athletics Championship which zonal finals comes up on Thursday and Friday this week.
The finals at the zone will take place in scheduled venues in the eight sports zones.
For Abak zone, the zonal final will hold at Community Secondary School,, Ikot Esop, Etim Ekpo Zone at the Etinan Stadium while Ibiono/Ikono zone will hold at Community Secondary School, Ikot Anyang other centres are Ukpo Okon Comprehensive Secondary School, Okon Town Ikot Abasi for Ikot Abasi zone, State College, Ikot Ekpene for Ikot Ekpene Zone, Methodist Boys High School, Oron for Oron zone, and Comprehensive Secondary School four towns for Uyo zone.
Consultant to the 14 year old sporting fiesta and veteran writer, Mr Paul Bassey in an interview with our sports correspondent disclosed that more than five hundred students who will be selected at the zonal finals on Thursday and Friday will be given spike shoes and trained under the watchful eyes of National and International coaches at the training pitch of the Akwa Ibom International Stadium, in order to give them a touch of first class facilities.
The weeklong training programme will afford the raw talents to get used to using spike shoes which international athletes use in their competitions and condition them to be first-class materials for use by the state and nation.
While recalling the performance of Akwa Ibom State during the National Youth Games in Abuja last year which saw Akwa Ibom emerging second best, Mr Bassey challenged Principals and Games Teachers to ensure that truly bonafide students participate in the zonal finals to enable genuine students benefit from financial rewards accruable to the successful students.
Similarly, one of the technical hands in championship and veteran sports administrator, Mr Carmike Ukpabio said he was happy at the benefits of the Akwa Ibom, NNPC, MPN schools athletes championship which had produced a reservoir of athletes who could became national and international champion in the near future because of the rigorous training they underwent in the hands of top-class coaches in different fields of athletes.
Mr Ukpabio said management have been directed to rid the event of fake students and admonished expiring games Masters and mistresses to desist from promoting cheating as the hall mark of the championship is to encourage full moral and physical wellbeing for a better Akwa Ibom and Nigeria.
The vice president of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN, Mr Justice Udousoro commended Mobil for partnering the vision of Mr Paul Bassey in exposing the sports talents of youths in the state, describing the 14 year event as the best grassroots sports promoter in Nigeria.
Mr Udousoro also commended the state Governor, Dr Godswill Akpabio for tackling the dearth of sports facilities with an internationally acclaimed stadium complex noting that athletes which suppose setbacks will now thrive in the state
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