Port Harcourt Teams Emerge Airtel Rising Stars Season 5 Champions

Port Harcourt male and female teams have emerged the winners of the fifth edition of Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) Season 5 U-17 football tournament.

In thrilling encounters on Saturday at the Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech) Sport Complex, the male team defeated Lagos in a penalty shootout which ended 3-1 after a scoreless draw, while the female team Team Port Harcourt Female U-17 trashed the Abuja girls by 2-0, to clinch the trophy for the national finals. The third place position for the male category went to Abuja while the Lagos team emerged third in the female category.

The three-day contest, which kicked off on Thursday, September 3rd, featured a total of six teams and 90 players who represented the North, South and West regions. The Port Harcourt boys and girls represented the South; Abuja teams represented the North Region while boys and girls from Lagos represented the West Region.

Airtel CEO, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya with Port Harcourt boys who emerged winner of ARS 5 national finals

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, while presenting the medals and trophies to the Port Harcourt teams, congratulated the youngsters for their outstanding performance in the championship. He noted that their hard work and preparation earned them the victory.

Speaking on the Airtel Rising Starts initiative, Mr. Ogunsanya explained that through the programme, Airtel has created opportunities for thousands of talented Nigerian youths, empowering them to succeed in their footballing career.

Airtel Nigeria's Brand Ambassador, Phyno entertaining the spectators during the National Finals of Airtel Rising Stars Season 5 

He reassured of the company’s commitment to creating opportunities that will provide the springboard for talented young boys and girls to climb to stardom, maintaining that the Telco is passionate about unlocking the potentials of exceptionally talented Nigerian youth.


Other top executives of Airtel Nigeria, including the Chief Commercial Officer, Maurice Newa; Director, Corporate Communications & CSR, Emeka Oparah; Director, Regulatory Affairs, Justin Damsa,; General Manager, Brands & Communication, Dele Anifowoshe; Director, IT, Rajat Jain, Director, Supply Chain Management; Raghvendra Gupta and Regional Operations Director, Lagos Region, Oladokun Oye were present at the event.

Notable ex- Internationals such as Garba Lawal, Mutiu Adepoju, Anne Chiejine, Etim Esin, Victor Agali, Jonathan Akpoborie and Henry Nwosu, as well as entertainment celebrities and Airtel Smart Icons, Tuface Idibia, Phyno and comedian, Akpororo also graced the event.

Garba Lawal (left) with Airtel's Rajat Jain (right) presenting an award to Juliet Abwo of Team Abuja who emerged the female Highest Goal Scorer

Some of the outstanding players in the tournament include 16-year-old Port Harcourt player, Chiamaka Nnadozie, who won the Best Goalkeeper Award in the female category. The Highest Goal Scorer Award went to 16-year-old Juliet Abwo of Team Abuja, while the Most Valuable Player Award went to Folashade Ekun of the Lagos team.

Meanwhile, Team Port Harcourt swept all the awards in the boys’ category: Precious Simon, 15, emerged the Best Goalkeeper; 16-year-Old Evo Christopher won the Highest Goal Scorer, Etiti Solomon the Most Valuable Player Award.

Coaches of the male and female Port Harcourt teams, Awin Christopher and Rita Nwadike won the Best Coaches in the competition. Filled with joy and excitement, both of them expressed appreciation to leading telecoms operator, Airtel Nigeria, for providing the ARS platform to develop youth and sport in Nigeria.

Ex-Nigerian International, Anne Chiejine (left) with Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel, Maurice Newa presenting the Most Valuable Player award to Etti Solomon of Team Port Harcourt 

Airtel CEO, Coach Awin Christopher of Team Port Harcourt and Tuface Idibia at finals of Airtel Rising Stars held at Yaba Tech on Saturday