Former Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi at the weekend showered prizes at outstanding athletes that emerged from the maiden edition of the Back2Base talent hunt programme held at the UNILAG Sports complex, Lagos.
Mikel who was present all through the three-day talent hunt programme also had the Sports Minister, Sunday Dare in attendance on the final day on Saturday 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 one way or the other and they have shown 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.”
Having seen the large turnout that greeted the first edition, Mikel who was last year appointed as Youth Ambassador by the Federal Government assured he will make bigger plans to accommodate more youngsters in subsequent editions of his new project.
Emma Jebutu and Toyin Asogba emerged as the most outstanding boys and girls in the tennis category.
While the duo expressed profound gratitude to Mikel and the other brains behind the Back2Base talent hunt programme, they said they hope to be playing in the Grand Slams very soon.
Mathew Abamu and Destiny Okhinye were the runners up in the Tennis event
In the Basketball event, Ayomide Lasisi, Chika Okafor and Kunle Adesuyi were selected as the top three performers
On their part, the trio of Abebayo Mubarak, Monday Pius and Samuel Adefeso were the top three players selected from the football event.
CEO and Founder of Avianna & Harvey Entertainments, Ahmed Fadekemi who midwifed the Back2Base talent hunt programme 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.
