Ernest Osogbue.
A workshop on the wellbeing of student athletes, organised on the sidelines of the ongoing National Schools Football Championship, has called on athletes to maintain their integrity in all that they do, as a requirement for growth in adulthood.
The workshop organised to bring athletes up to date with the 7 pillars of competition wellbeing, which are; participation, fun, respect, fairplay, health, skill, and team spirit, had resource persons drawn from different angles of sports development, including the safeguarding officer of the Nigerian Football Federation NFF, FCT SWAN chairman, a sports medicine specialist in physiotherapy, and many others. Participants included coaches, team captains and their assistants, from the participating schools across Nigeria.
The workshop which held at the conference hall, package B, of the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, is the first time a structured wellbeing program has been organized in-competition, for student-athletes, in recent times. Critical contents on nutrition, injury prevention, mental health consciousness, exam pressure, safeguarding protocols, athlete development pathways, and the role of the media in athletes development, were some of the areas discussed, in the two part workshop.
Speaking at the event, Ibrahim Bello, president and founder of KickStart Sports Foundation, said that the National Schools Football Championship, is not just a football competition. According to him, it is an avenue for character development and the molding of future leaders, long after the final whistle on the pitch of play.
The football championship which is set to conclude on Monday 29th June 2026, in the male and female categories, has Fosla Academy taking on Brilliant Academy in the male finals. Fosla Academy was unrelenting in the semi final played on Sunday, smashing Divine Mercy School 8-1 in the first semi final, with eight different players on the scoresheet. Sunday Mark, however, netted Divine Mercy’s consolation goal, in the 31st minute.
In the second semi final, it was another goals galore, as Brilliant Academy overwhelmed Parliament International School 5-3, to book their place in the final, with Ibrahim Hussaini netting a brace for the victors. In the girls category, Fosla Academy Girls, will face Government Girls Secondary School, Lugbe, in the final, after both sides enjoyed decisive victories in the semi finals.
The championship comes to a close on Monday 29th June 2026, at package B of the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, after the final matches in the boys and girls events.
