Guardian

HUNDREDS of young men at the weekend thronged the Rangers training pitch in Enugu and Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt to participate in the trials for this year’s MTN Football Scholar.

The trials, which started the series of auditioning for Season Three Academy, saw the enthusiastic youths demonstrating soccer artistry in groups under the watch of coaches and football enthusiasts across the country.

The boys, who were unanimous in their assertion that MTN has brought an unprecedented hope to their emerging football careers in a way they would not be neglecting their academic pursuits, lauded the company for the unique initiative.

Chidi Orji, a SSS 3 student, who participated in the Enugu trials, said he was hopeful that he would make the Academy. According to him,

“MTN Football Scholar has provided an unequalled opportunity to combine education with football, and I believe I possess the football talent and educational capacity to excel, by God’s grace I will make the Academy,” he declared. Speaking earlier at the press conference that ushered in the season, MTN’s Kola Oyeyemi, said the telecommunication company was committed to its brand’s promise of enriching lives.

“Over the years, MTN has shown to the whole world that it means what it says, and the Football Scholar initiative has proved this point. We support the initiative not just to empower our young generation who are football talents, but also to make them educated soccer stars,” he said.

Four young Nigerians, who participated in Season One, are already in U.S. universities, while eight football scholars from Season Two would leave this September for universities in the United States and Canada.