Sport

Delta 2022: LOC Assures of Speedy Completion of Facilities

By Web News 921

The Local Organizing Committee for the 2022 National Sports Festival, NSF, scheduled to hold in Delta State, has pledged speedy completion all sporting infrastructure in Asaba and environs where the games will be hosted.

This was made known in Asaba, the state capital during an inspection of facilities earmarked for the hosting of the event.

The leader of the assessment team, Chief Solomon Ogba, stated there would be a renovation of the hostels and the perfection of electrical and water systems at designated camps where the participating athletes from across the nation would be accommodated.

Chief Ogba listed other measures adopted for the games to include the provision of makeshift toilets for spectators.

Other delegates in the inspection team include the former Director General, Delta State Sports Commission, Chief Victor Onogagamue and the current DG, Mr Chris Anazia.

The locations visited during the tour include: The Tennis Club and facilities at St. Bridget’s College, both in Asaba and sporting venues at Ogwashi-Uku Polytechnic in Ogwashi-Uku.

It would be recalled that Delta State governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa has promised that the 21st National Sports Festival which will hold between November 2 and 15, 2022, will be an event that will make every participant, including athletes, coaches, accompanying officials and journalists proud of the state at its conclusion.

Oghenero Eghweree

Sport

NSF: Oyo Govt. Presents Instant Cash Rewards to Medalists

By Web News 681

Oyo State Government has presented instant financial rewards to the state’s athletes who have so far won medals at the ongoing National Sports Festival in Edo State.

Presenting the cash awards to the medalists at the camp of Team Oyo, University of Benin, Chairman, Oyo State Sports Council, Chief Gbenga Adewusi said the gesture was to encourage other athletes to win more medals.

Chief Adewusi said the move is apart from the financial rewards to be showered on the  medalists when they return to Oyo State, and that it was the idea of Governor Seyi Makinde.

Chief Adewusi said five thousand naira courtesy of his office and another five thousand naira from the General Manager of the State Sports Council, Mr Gboyega Makinde were added to the twenty thousand naira approved by the state government as instant rewards to gold medalists.

Two gold medalists were presented with thirty thousand naira each, four silver medalists were given ten thousand naira each while eighteen bronze medalists were presented five thousand naira each.

Olaolu Fawole

Sport

SWAN Decries Treatment of Members at National Sports Festival

By Web News 672

The National President, Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Mr Honour Sirawo, has lamented the poor treatment of members of the Association at the ongoing National Sports Festival, Edo 2020.

Mr. Sirawo while addressing members at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium this afternoon decried the inability of the organizers of the Games to provide basic media amenities and the bare minimums pertaining to the media coverage of the event to members of SWAN.

He attributed part of the struggles and inadequacies of the organizers to the inability of the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports to financially support the government of Edo State which had exhausted its budget for the Festival after the competition suffered a couple of postponements before it eventually commenced on April 2, 2021.

Mr. Sirawo, who is also the Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, however called on members to remain calm and continue with their professional coverage of the Games while he continued to interface with the Games’ organizers with a view to improving the working conditions of members at the event. 

The sports festival ends on the fourteenth of this month.

Olaolu Fawole

Sport

NSF will be shut down tomorrow if FG does not show commitment – Phillip Shuaibu

By Web News 580

-Deputy Governor of Edo State and Chairman, Local Organizing Committee of the National Sports Festival, Phillip Shuaibu says the 2020 National Sports Festival will be shut down by noon tomorrow (Friday) if there is no commitment from the Federal Government on release of funds.

He made this known while addressing newsmen at the Media Center of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City.

Mr. Shuaibu maintained that the Main Organising Committee Secretariat will be shut down later today owing to the situation.

He explained that Edo State was cash strapped as it could no longer meet its obligations to vendors such as caterers and others for the Games hence the need for the shutting down of the sports festival tomorrow.

A visit to the Secretariat of the Main Organising Committee shows that services of the security operatives deployed to the Secretariat have been disengaged, while games scheduled for today are still ongoing.

Olaolu Fawole

Sport

Taraba, Oyo Disqualified as National Sports Festival Kicks Off

By Web News 671

The 20th National Sports Festival officially kicks off today in Benin, Edo State.

Taraba and Oyo States have been disqualified for failing to conduct COVID-19 and vaccination tests for athletes and officials before traveling to the venue of the competition according to the Director, Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) Edo State, Dr. Bruce Osha.

Bruce said the two states and others would be readmitted if they can go back to their states and conduct the two tests.

According to the schedule by the Local Organising Committee, the ‘Nigerian Olympic’ will begin with 13 sports out of 38 sports in total.

Badminton which is the first game will take place at the Sports Hall, Etele Gymnasium while boxing holds at the Oba Akenzua Cultural Center, Airport Road.

Cricket and cycling will take the center stage at Adolor College Ugbowa and Airport Road, Aruaga GRA, Benin respectively.

Handball, hockey, Judo, Karate, Kickboxing and Kokowa , scrabble, squash, swimming, taekwondo and tennis are other events scheduled to start today at different centers in the state such as Sam Ogbemudia stadium, St Maria Gorreti College, Dumez Road amongst others.

The Festival is scheduled to end on April 15, 2021.

FRCN Abuja

Sport

Oyo Holds Maiden Junior Golf Clinic

By Web News 747

The maiden edition of Oyo State Junior Golf Clinic will take off in Ibadan, the capital on the 12th of April, 2021.

Special Assistant on Sports Development to Governor Seyi Makinde, Honourable Tobi Oyewumi made this known while speaking with newsmen in his office.

He described the event as a clinic and also a competition, which would introduce teenagers to the game at a younger age.

 Honourable Oyewumi, who is the organiser of the Golf Clinic, assured that the tournament would discover talents among children between the ages of nine to seventeen.

 “Talents to be discovered at the Golf Clinic would be given opportunities to develop themselves and become professional Golfers, that is the main goal”

He disclosed that apart from regular trainings to nurture the talents to limelight, winners in the children category would go home with mouth watering gifts which would be presented to winners in the pro category.

 “This is going to be an annual tournament and it is in line with Governor Seyi Makinde’s agenda to develop sports and check youth restiveness”, Honourable Oyewumi added

He maintained that Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration had been working round the clock to promote and develop sports in the state.

The office of the Special Assistant on Sports Development to Governor Seyi Makinde had last December held the first GSM Tennis Championship where talents discovered are representing Oyo State at the ongoing National Sports Festival in Edo State.

Olaolu Fawole

Sport

Team Ogun Departs for 20th National Sports Festival in Edo

By Web News 672

Team Ogun Contingents have departed for the 20th National Sports Festival in Edo which commenced on Friday.

The state contingents completed the COVID-19 mandatory test today at the MTR Specialist Hospital, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, leaving the Rock City amidst hope and determination.

Many of the athletes whose events start tomorrow were also among those that made the trip to the ancient Benin City, while others are to have enough time to relax before the commencement of their events.

The second batch of the team are expected to leave on Sunday since all modalities had been perfected by the management of the Ogun State Sports Council led by its Director of Sports, Mrs. Folakemi Rotimi.

Olusegun Folarin

Sport

National Sports Festival to Hold Next Month in Edo

By Web News 625

The much postponed Edo National Sports Festival will go ahead as planned from  2nd – 14th of next month, with 8,000 athletes taking part, Minister  of Youth  and sports Development Chief Sunday Dare has assured.

Speaking in Benin after undergoing a tour of facilities and a meeting with  Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, Chief Dare said the camp for the Edo Festival would be opened on second of next month, while the official opening of the Festival will be done by President Muhammadu Buhari on the sixth.

 The minister said the ministry was also working closely with the PTF,NCDC and other stakeholders to ensure that the necessary support were provided in terms of vaccination of athletes, test kits. 

He said the number of athletes that would be participating had been reduced from 14,000 to 8,000.

He commended Edo state Governor and his Deputy Governor for taking the lead.

Chief Dare concluded that the event was coming at the most auspicious  time when athletes are preparing for the Olympics.

The Festival billed for last year was postponed due to the out break of Covid-19.

The new February date was also moved due to paucity of funds.

PR/Olaolu Fawole

Sport

Oyo will sweep medals at National Sports Festival – Council Boss

By Web News 754

Chairman, Oyo State Sports Council, Chief Gbenga Adewusi has expressed optimism that the state will record more success at the forthcoming National Sports Festival.

Chief Adewusi gave the assurance in Ibadan while speaking with newsmen.

According to the former local council boss, Governor Seyi Makinde has been giving great support to sports development and this would enable the state to surpass the ninth position it recorded at the Abuja National Sports Festival in 2018.

He disclosed that apart from some games that Oyo State is known for sweeping medals, the sports council has been working out modalities to win medals in other games.

“We are going to win more medals than before because we have athletes of national and international repute and we have told our boxers to stop looking for points but try to knock out their opponents” Adewusi told newsmen.

The veteran squash player turned coach maintained that there is politics in sports, but assured that Oyo State athletes would win convincingly to avoid any foul play.

Olaolu Fawole

Sport

Okowa Bags “Most Outstanding Sports Commissioner” Award

By Web News 868

The Chairman Delta State Sports Commission, Mr Tonobuk Okowa has been awarded “The Most Outstanding Sports Commissioner in Nigeria”, by a group of sports promoters, for guiding Team Delta to retaining top spot at the last National Sport Festivals, NSF, in Abuja, winning eighty-five gold medals in the process.

The sports administrator was also nominated for leading the victorious Team Delta to the 2019 National Youth Games held in Ilorin, Kwara State, where they amassed a hundred and four medals to win the competition for the fifth time in succession.

Receiving the award at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, Mr Okowa thanked the management and staff of Delta States Sports Commission for their support which has led to the winning streak since he assumed office in 2015.  

Mr Okowa also lauded the state’s athletes for the achievements, and decried the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on sports development, noting it would take up to six weeks for the athletes to regain fitness after the lockdown measures against COVID-19 are lifted.

Also receiving an award at the event was an ex-International and Special Assistant on Sports Development to Delta State Government Mr Steve Cole, who was recognized for his role in sports development.

Meanwhile, a representative of awarding group, Mr. Moses Ebahor noted the award was aimed at motivating the sports administrators to maintain their position as role models in grassroots sports development in the nation.

Oghenero Eghweree

Sport

Torch of Unity Touches down in Oyo State

By Web News 1251 Post a comment

Oyo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr Seun Fakorede says the state will surpass previous achievements at the forthcoming National Sports Festival beginning in Edo state next Sunday. 

Mr Fakorede said this in Ibadan while receiving the Torch of Unity of the National Sports Festival, NSF, from the South-West Zonal Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr Olufemi Ajao.

He explained that adequate incentive packages have been put in place for Oyo state athletes to motivate them at the sports Festival.

The Commissioner noted that camps have been opened for athletes in designated centres across the state. 

Mr Fakorede added that two hundred and thirty-two athletes from Oyo state would be participating in twenty-nine sports at the National sports festival.

20th edition of the National Sports Festival tagged “Edo 2020” will be held between 22nd of this month to 1st of next month.

Olaolu Fawole

Sport

NSF 2022 Bid Committee Visits Ogun, Inspects Facilities

By Web News 1196

Ogun State Government says it is ready to host the 21st edition of the National Sports Festival, NSF.

Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Dr Oluwadare Kehinde stated this during an inspection visit by the Evaluation Bid Committee team of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports, who were in the State to assess sporting facilities available for hosting of the festival.

Conducting the committee round sporting facilities in Abeokuta, Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode, Dr Kehinde emphasized the state’s readiness to host the biennial sports competition in 2022, pointing out the present administration was passionate about sport development.

Speaking after the inspection, the chairman and leader of the committee, Mr Katmwan Dungse who described facilities available in Ogun State as a top-notch, said they had a better chance of hosting the festival in 2022.

Facilities inspected included MKO Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta Sports Club, Alake Sports Center, Ijeja, June 12 Cultural Center, Kuto, Abeokuta Grammar School, Gateway International Stadium, Sagamu, NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Sagamu, and Dipo Dina Stadium, Ijebu-Ode.

The winning bid to host the 21st National Sports Festival in 2022 would be announced at the closing ceremony of the 20th edition of the Festival, scheduled for Edo State in March 2020.

Olusegun Folarin

Sport

Ogun Sports Commissioner Hosts SWAN, Promises Open-Door Policy

By Web News 1345

Ogun State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Dr. Oluwadare Kehinde has solicited the support of stakeholders especially sports journalists in reviving the sector in the state.

Dr. Kehinde made the call while receiving the executives of Ogun State Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN, led by its Chairman, Alhaji Akeem Akintunde in Abeokuta.

Ogun State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Dr. Oluwadare Kehinde with members of Ogun SWAN during the visit

The Youth and Sports Commissioner who noted that the task of developing the sports sector required the contributions of individuals, groups and associations promised to run an open-door policy towards ensuring positive turnaround in the sector.

He commended the SWAN executives and members for discharging their duties professionally and promised work with them for the development of the sector.

Earlier, the SWAN Chairman, Alhaji Akeem Akintunde had stressed the need for the government to resuscitate grassroots sports especially by organising a mini-festival that would engage youths in sporting activities and assist the state to discover new talents.

Alhaji Akintunde who described sports as an important sector to reduce youth restiveness said there was the need for the state athletes to commence early preparations for the National Sports Festival to ensure that state return to its leading place in the sector. 

Olusegun Folarin