ANDREW EKEJIUBA
President of Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF), Mrs Olabisi Joseph has expressed delight with Maltina for the successful sponsorship of the just concluded Maltina School Games where International School Lagos (ISL) emerged overall winner of the Lagos region of the event held at Yaba College of Technology, Akoka, Lagos.
Joseph said sponsors like Maltina has given the children an opportunity to discover their talents.
“These children’s lives have changed forever. This wouldn’t have been possible without our sponsor Maltina, some of these children will continue to pursue athletics as professionals.
“I believe that there is so much we can achieve, talents are everywhere and we just need to continue to harness their potentials,” she stated. ”Discovering these talents is not enough and that’s why I am here today, watching these children as they have proven that we cannot just leave them alone.”
ISL won with event with seven gold, five silver and two bronze medals.
The second edition of the Maltina School Games was held in four regions; Bauchi, Abuja, Rivers State and Lagos State, in order to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines.
Oluwademilade Ajayi, a student of ISL, who won the best athlete for boys in the senior category, revealed that the victory would encourage him to take his vocation seriously as well as his studies.
”I am so happy that I was selected as one of the most outstanding athletes; I have always loved sports, but this has given me the encouragement that I need to remain focused.
“I will learn to manage my time effectively, so it doesn’t affect my studies, I will learn to balance the two,” he said.
No fewer than 1,571 schools participated in the 2021 edition as against 1,000 schools that competed in the maiden edition in 2020.
The body temperatures of spectators were checked at the entrance and hand sanitisers applied in order to prevent possible transmission of the dreaded coronavirus.
The track and field competition for junior and senior secondary schools was jointly organised by Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc and NSSF.
No fewer than 410 schools participated at the preliminary stage in Lagos State.
Sade Morgan, NB’s Corporate Affairs Director, said the tournament was Maltina’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), focusing on raising a generation of future champions.
“Learning is not just in the classroom, learning outside the classroom is equally vital.
“We couldn’t have done this alone without Nigeria School Sports Federation, because the fact remains that we have lots of talents in this country, especially in track and field.
”Today, we have taken this bold step to ensure that we give these children the opportunity and also to mentor them as we should to help them stay focused,” she said.
Educational tabs were given to all gold medalists, while cash rewards were given to deserving participants.