School sports has been identified world-wide as a precipitator to helping children reach their full potentials, while promoting social and personal growth and driving academic development.

The strength of school sports on overall education, academic achievements, life skills and the physical development of children is absolutely necessary.

In Nigeria, the emergence of a thriving youth sports scene has been impeded by difficult realities about equity in participation, inadequate funding and a lack of the existence of all-encompassing school sports platforms.

In the past three years, the country’s number one malt brand has built nationwide renown for its efforts in restoring the country’s youth sports ecosystem and creating profound experiences through its signature school sports initiative, the Maltina School Games.

Birthed in 2020, the Maltina School Games is a yearly, nationwide secondary school sports festival hosted by the top beverage brand. This year’s edition, themed “Building Champions, Sharing Happiness,” was aimed at identifying and nurturing local sports talents to represent the country on the world stage.

The event, up from its preliminary stages to the national finals, was the perfect opportunity to see young people come alive and throw their all into a common goal in an inspiring display of sportsmanship.

At the beginning of the games, five states – Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and Akwa-Ibom states – were picked to host over a thousand young students each to the first lap of the sport event.

A total of 190 students were picked to advance to the grand finale of the sports festival – the national finals. The event was held at the Abuja mini stadium and athletes delivered the performances of a lifetime in track and field events including 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m races, as well as high jump, long jump, javelin, board games, a march past and band contest.

In tandem with its core brand value of sharing happiness, Maltina rewarded all competitors in the 2022 Maltina School Games with fantastic prizes. From medals to sportswear, sports equipment and fantastic branded merchandise, the proud participants had bright, excited smiles as they went home.

To cap it off, Maltina celebrated the sport champions and hosted the participating school officials, athletes and other stakeholders to a star-studded gala night affair where a formal presentation of cash rewards and gifts was held.

Winners in specified broad categories took home a whopping half a million naira cash prize and laptops. The overall best star athlete, Israel Olubunmi, was rewarded with three laptops, a generous prize of N1.5m and the biggest trophy.

As an extraordinary icing on the cake, the top 12 athletes from the contest will be sent on an all-expense paid trip to represent Nigeria at the ultimate secondary school sports event, The World School Games.

The Maltina School Games is a true testament of the sponsor’s unwavering dedication to fostering school sports across borders through purely inventive efforts.

The initiative has united various stakeholders around the power of sports and developed a national youth sports model that prioritises impact, equity in participation and sustainable development.

In the years to come, the game’s impact will continue to be a much needed, positive storm across multiple focal points – bringing joy, reviving passion, developing and empowering young sports champions and celebrating excellence in the youth sports landscape of the country.