CHANNELS NATIONAL KIDS CUP SEASON VI: How Austin Okon-Akpan Drums Up Interest On Channels TV.

Austin Okon-Akpan was again on ‘Sunrise Daily’ this morning. He was on Sports Tonight last night talking about this same tournament.

It isn’t Glo Premier League. It isn’t the Federations cup. It isn’t even a major competition for that matter. But by now, Channels National Kids Cup Season VI is something everyone is looking forward to. Unless, off course, you’d not tune-in to Channels television, then you’re free from all the bombardments.

This time, I guess, Channels TV decided to put its Kids cup tournament not only on the eyeballs of its 50 million viewers, but on the mind of football fans across the country. Something the Nigerian football leagues hadn’t been able to accomplish over the years.

This is the power of television. You’d bet Okon-Akpan, spokesperson for the organizing committee of the Channels National Kids cup, is succeeding. After all, Channels TV is the people’s favorite channel and has won the best TV station in Nigeria for 8 years running. Programs like ‘Sports Tonight’ is become something of addiction, something football fans cannot do without each day.

So the organizing committee has found ways to increase viewers’ interest for tournament:

· The Channels National Kid Cup Season VI Ad, ‘Catching them Young,’ run each day on Channels TV for a month now.

· Updates of the tournament are seen on Channels TV news footage scrolling through all day long.

· Video clips of the previous edition and the recent preliminaries especially that of Lagos are played back on ‘Sports Today’ And ‘Sports Tonight’ programs on Channels TV.

This is what I call maximum exposure. Something I think League Management Company (LMC) should learn to do for the Glo Premier League. You’d be sure in a football-crazed Nigeria; many fans are already looking forward to the National Kids cup, especially now the English Premier League (EPL) is gone off-season and countries are preparing for FIFA World cup in Brazil, the kids’ game could be an alternative fun for football fans.

The organizing committee is convinced that football fans who get interested during off-season are more likely to go to Teslim Football stadium to watch these kids do their thing.

So when Mom and Dad tune in to Channels TV, they can find all the highlights of the games. The thrills of seeing these young cadets, age 9 – 13 years, displaying awesome football artistry, while their school mates cheer on from the stadium stands or right there at home, could serve as a great evening broomtail for the whole family enjoyment.

The standard of the competition is quite good. The games are played at the Astros-turf of Teslim Balogun Stadium and recorded by the professional hands of Channels TV cameramen. These give the tournament a class of its own.

Indeed, it opens a great cross marketing opportunity for brands, which can target the whole family unit as well as football fans across Nigeria. Already, the tournament is being supported by Golden Penny foods and EKo Football, that’s Lagos State Football Association (LSFA).

The Channels National Kids cup commence on Wednesday May 20, up until the children’s day, May 27, when the finals will be played. These are some of the schools that will be competing: