Outstanding athletes from the maiden edition of the Back2Base talent hunt held at the UNILAG Sports complex, Lagos were at the weekend showered with prizes by former Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi.
Mikel who was present throughout the three-day event, also had the Sports Minister, Sunday Dare in attendance in Saturday’s final, said he was very impressed with the level of skills exhibited by the youngsters who participated across the three sports; football, basketball and tennis.
While the former Chelsea star promptly fulfilled the cash rewards to the outstanding athletes across the three sports, he also promised to do his best to ensure they are given more platforms to actualize their dreams of becoming superstars in their chosen fields.
He said: “I am very happy with the success of this first edition, for me all the children are winners because they are all talented in one way or the other and they all have a bright future ahead of them”
“I hope to see them get good clubs here in Nigeria and also abroad so they can continue to improve on their skills and keep getting better.”
Following the large turnout during the event, Mikel assured he would make bigger plans to accommodate more youngsters in subsequent editions.
Emma Jebutu and Toyin Asogba emerged as the most outstanding boys and girls in the tennis category.
In the Basketball event, Ayomide Lasisi, Chika Okafor and Kunle Adesuyi were selected as the top three performers while the trio of Abebayo Mubarak, Monday Pius and Samuel Adefeso were the top three selected from the football event.
CEO and Founder of Avianna & Harvey Entertainments, Ahmed Fadekemi who midwife the Back2Base talent hunt said that aside from the Six Million Naira shared across the outstanding athletes, the youngsters will also have a dinner date and mentorship session with Mikel.
“We are glad with the impact we have been able to make these few days and it has encouraged us to do even more going forward. While we thank all our partners, especially Mikel, we hope to have more people on board on our next project,” she stated.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
