October 12, (THEWILL) – Tonobok Okowa, president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), believes the sixth National Youth Games, which will be held in Ilorin, will serve as a talent recruitment ground for the federation.
On Sunday, Team Delta, the defending champions, arrived in Ilorin with a contingent of 750 athletes and officials. The athletes were ready to defend their title, according to Okowa, who is also the head of the Delta State Sport Commission.
On Saturday evening at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, a praise and worship session was organised for the team, during which the Secretary to the State Government, Patrick Ukah, who represented Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, urged the athletes to do everything necessary to defend their title.
“As soon as athletics event starts, I will shift my attention to track and field because the AFN will use the National Youth Games to recruit athletes who will step into the shoes of some ageing ones,” the AFN President said.
“As for Team Delta, we have worked very had for this games, and I am sure we will emerge victorious again. The state government has given us the support we need, and we are very grateful to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and the entire executive council.”
According to Okowa, the state government awarded 11 of the young athletes identified at the 2019 edition of the National Youth Games with academic scholarships last year to combine their study with sports in the United States, and four more have recently joined them because “when we discover young athletes, we keep them and nurture them,” Okowa said.
Meanwhile, the organisers of the youth games have promised participants that the event would go through without a hitch, claiming that the few issues that were reported on the first day have been resolved.
The Local Organising Committee announced a modest change to the competition’s schedule, with the opening ceremony now set for Thursday rather than Wednesday as initially billed.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
