Sports
15-Year-Old Sprinter Gets Scholarship
The drive by Making of
Champions (MOC), an athletics consulting firm and club, to ensure better education and career for its athletes has benefitted Chiamaka Egbochinam, a 15-year-old sprinter.
Egbochinam, dubbed Nigeria’s fastest 15-year-old, was awarded a two-year Secondary School Scholarship by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo), Oil & Gas company.
Bambo Akani, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Making of Champions, an athletics consulting firm and club, made the disclosure in a statement made available to newsmen yesterday in Lagos.
The statement said that Egbochinam got the title of MOC’s ”Nigeria’s fastest 15-year old’’ after he won bronze medl in the 100m and 200m at the 2016 National Youth Games (NYG) in Ilorin, Kwara.
She had a personal best time of 12.08 secs in the 100m and 25.25 secs in the 200m.
The statement said the teenager was discovered at MOC’s 2015 Top Sprinter Enugu Auditions.
She also won a gold in the 100m and bronze medal in the 200m at the 2015 Lagos Finals of Top Sprinter competition with a time of 12.62 secs and 26.21 secs.
The statement also said that Egbochinam was the third beneficiary of MOC’s Student-Athlete Scholarship and that the scholarship would see her through her secondary school education.
“Earlier this year, Joy Udo-Gabriel and Jeremiah Jakpa were awarded a `four-year university scholarships, courtesy of another oil and gas company, ARCO Group, to study at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) respectively.
“The two university scholarship awardees would also be training for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with MOC’s Olympic Medallist and Coache Deji Aliu and his assistant Uchenna Emedolu,’’ it quoted Akani as saying.
The statement said that the scholarship covered tuition, accommodation, nutrition, training and competition costs for the next two years.
In a statement released by the league, the competition is scheduled to take place from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 14, 2026, with six clubs set to battle for the league title at the end of the 2025/26 season.
NWFL Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, said the choice of Port Harcourt reflects the Rivers State Government’s continued support for women’s football and its successful hosting of the league’s Annual General Assembly last year.
The Super Six tournament will feature the top three teams from Group A and Group B of the regular season competing in a round-robin format, with each club playing five matches over nine days.
Qualified teams for the competition include defending champions Bayelsa Queens, Edo Queens, Rivers Angels, Robo Queens, Nasarawa Amazons, and debutants Abia Angels.
The NWFL Premiership has produced four different winners in the last five editions, with Rivers Angels winning in 2021, Bayelsa Queens claiming the title in 2022 and 2025, Delta Queens triumphing in 2023, and Edo Queens emerging champions in 2024.
The league also urged participating clubs to comply with all competition regulations and directives ahead of the championship. The Super Six will determine Nigeria’s representative for the WAFU-B qualifiers for a place at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League and ultimately the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.
Teams are expected to arrive on Friday, June 5, when the draw ceremony and pre-match meeting will also take place. Matchdays are scheduled for June 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14, with rest days in between before the tournament concludes with the trophy presentation ceremony.
