The 3rd Making of Champions (MoC) Grand Prix and Relays which was tentatively scheduled for December 2020 has been moved to 2021, following the recommendation of the National Council on Sports to hold the Edo 2020 National Sports Festival (NSF) from December 3rd to 18th.
With the world at large experiencing a challenging year due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which led to a halt in domestic competitions for eight months, organisers of the MoC Grand Prix had tentatively set the dates of December 3rd to 5th 2020 for the third edition of its annual flagship competition in Lagos, provided that Sports had been given the all-clear to resume in Nigeria by then.
It was expected that the 3rd MoC Grand Prix and Relays, which was set to go continental, would give athletes and relay teams across Africa a much needed first opportunity to vie for Tokyo Olympics qualification once the window re-opened in December.
However, following the Technical session of the National Council on Sports on November 5th and 6th in Delta State, it was agreed that the Games Village for the NSF would open on Thursday, December 3rd, with the Opening Ceremony scheduled for December 5th, while the Closing Ceremony would take place on Thursday, December 17th. The recommendations of the National Council on Sports are however subject to the approval of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19 and President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to MoC Founder/CEO Bambo Akani, the 3rd MoC Grand Prix will return by March or April 2021, and a new date will be communicated early next year.
In the last few years, the MoC Grand Prix has become Nigeria’s largest annual competition asides the National Championships and has witnessed an influx of the country’s top athletes who have used the event to seek qualification for international competitions at each edition.
It has also become a regular and one of the most important fixtures in the annual calendar of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), who is MoC’s Technical Partner for the event, ensuring all races are timed electronically and all results ratified and recognized globally by World Athletics.
