MFM YOUTH GAMES: Mountain Top University Defeats Prayer City in the Opening Football Match
Mountain Top University (MTU) made a winning start to the 2026 Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) Youth Games, defeating Prayer City 1–0 in an entertaining opening football encounter held on Monday, 7 September 2026, at the University’s football pitch.
The opening fixture marked the commencement of the 2026 MFM Youth Games, an annual youth-focused sporting initiative of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries Worldwide, under the visionary leadership of its General Overseer and Founder, Dr D. K. Olukoya, Professor of Biotechnology.
The 2026 edition brings together young people from MFM churches and centres across Nigeria for a broad range of sporting and intellectual competitions, including football, basketball, athletics, table tennis, Scrabble, and chess.
Beyond competition, the Games are designed to provide a platform for youth development, talent discovery, evangelism, teamwork, discipline, leadership, and healthy interaction among young people within the MFM family.
The MFM Youth Games form part of Dr D. K. Olukoya’s longstanding vision of positively engaging and repositioning young people through purposeful activities. The initiative dates back to 2006, when youth development was incorporated into the ministry’s 70-Point Youth Repositioning Agenda, with sport identified as one of the strategic avenues for youth engagement, talent development, and evangelism.
Over the years, the initiative has contributed to the discovery and nurturing of sporting talent, with several beneficiaries progressing to prominent levels of Nigerian sport. One of the notable athletes associated with the MFM sporting development initiative is Rasheedat Ajibade, captain of the Nigerian women’s national football team, alongside other athletes who have distinguished themselves in various sporting professions.
The ministry’s investment in football development has also contributed to the growth of MFM Football Club, the first church football club to compete in the Nigerian professional football league. What began primarily as an avenue for youth engagement has progressively evolved into a broader sporting platform encompassing several competitive disciplines and providing young people with opportunities to discover and develop their abilities.
The opening match was declared open by the Vice-Chancellor of Mountain Top University, Professor Elijah Ayolabi, who warmly welcomed the participating teams, officials, and other members of the MFM community to the University.
In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor expressed the University’s pleasure in hosting the youth sporting event and encouraged the participants to embrace the values that transcend the outcome of any individual competition.
Also present at the opening fixture were senior pastors and leaders of MFM, including Pastor Richard Olumayowa, Pastor Kunle Adesanya, Pastor Akinola, and Pastor Emmanuel Oladimeji, alongside other church leaders, university officials, staff, students, and supporters.
The opening football encounter produced an intense and closely contested battle, with both teams demonstrating determination and discipline.
For much of the 90-minute encounter, neither side was able to break the deadlock despite several promising attacking moves and goal-scoring opportunities. As the game entered its closing stages, the intensity increased, with both teams searching for the decisive breakthrough.
Mountain Top University eventually found the answer.
With only a few minutes remaining, Kushimo Victor, MTU’s number 9 and captain, delivered the decisive moment of the encounter, finding the back of the net to give Mountain Top University a 1–0 lead.
The late strike triggered celebrations among the MTU players, officials, and supporters, as the University secured a crucial victory in the opening fixture of the Games. The result gives the MTU football team an encouraging start to its campaign as attention turns to the subsequent fixtures of the competition.
The football opener represents only the beginning of a series of sporting and intellectual competitions scheduled for the 2026 MFM Youth Games. The Games will continue through to 17 September 2026, when the various competitions are expected to reach their conclusion and the outstanding performers will be recognised with trophies and other honours.
For Mountain Top University, however, the journey has begun on a winning note.
Congratulations to the Mountain Top University Football Team on their 1–0 victory over Prayer City.