Sports
World Athletic Championship: Athletes will give good account of themselves-AFN Assures
Joel Ajayi
As world Athletic Championship WAC, in Budapest, Hungary is around the corner, Athletic Federation of Nigeria AFN has assured that Nigerians athletes will indeed, give good account of themselves in the world event.
President of AFN Tonobok Okowa stated this on Thursday in Abuja shortly after the extra ordinary emergency congress where grey areas from constitution were ratified and chat a way forward for the Federation’s progress.
“As we speaks, we are set for Abuja all commers on Friday while the golden league will come up on Saturday, inside Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja, we are doing all these to prepare our athletes for the task ahead.
“After which are going to have trials for the World Athletic Championship coming up in Budapest in Hungary and I can assure you, when tournament will start Nigerian athletes will give good account of themselves that every Nigerians will be proud of.” He said.
Speaking on the reasons for the emergency congress, AFN President said that, the congress meet to have understanding of the constitution, saying that after the congress, AFN now have a good constitution that will progress the Federation for years.
“The congress was called for the understanding of our constitution, there some issues that need our urgent attention because tenure of this government is going to an end in couples of days, so there is need for the congress to fine-tune things in the constitution that would align with code of governance in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development guildline for the sports federation.
“And we have treated the matter and now we can say, we have a good constitution that will guide AFN for number of years.”
Tonobok, however urged all the stakeholders to not allow unnecessary bickering that will not bring growth to the Federation but should always channeled their energy on issues that will grow the Federation further.
Also speaking was, President of Nigeria Olympic Committee NOC Engr. Habu Gumel who called on the sports federations especially Athletic Federation of Nigeria AFN to leave no stone unturned to ensure the winning of gold medal especially at the forthcoming 2024 Olympic Paris in France.
Gumel laments inability of Nigeria to win gold in Olympic games since 1996.
He said: “The last time Nigeria won gold medal in Olympic history is 1996, when team Nigeria won gold in football Atlanta 1996, since then, it’s bronze, silvers and as we speak Nigeria is tire of winning bronze or silver.
“That is why I am calling on all federations especially AFN to work hard and break this jinx for Nigeria.”
Sports
President Tinubu’s Commitment to Sports Development Delivering Results at the Grassroots Level — NSC Chief Olopade
The Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon. Bukola Olopade, says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision for transformative grassroots sports development is already yielding tangible results, citing the introduction of the Invited Junior Athletes (IJA) at the National Sports Festival as a prime example.
Hon. Olopade stated that grassroots sports development is a cornerstone of the Renewed Hope Initiative for Nigeria’s Sports Economy (RHINSE), with the President giving full backing to the Commission’s efforts.
“We understand that the foundation of our sports renaissance is an intentional priority to the grassroots cadre of our sports pyramid, and this is why the IJA project is very dear to the Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, and myself,” he said.
He noted that the inclusion of the Invited Junior Athletes (IJA) as the “38th state” at the National Sports Festival in Ogun State is set to be a game changer, aimed at building a steady pipeline of top talent for major international competitions.
“The Commission has also been able to send about 19 different national teams out for various international competitions thanks to the kind of financial backing and support we are getting from Mr President,” he added.
“Fortunately, many of these teams have returned to the country excelling—boosting the image and bragging rights of our country on the international stage.”
The Director General highlighted impressive breakthroughs in sports where Nigeria previously had little visibility.
“We are now also beginning to excel in sports that Nigeria was never known for before, like the performance of the Nigeria U19 Cricket team at the World Cup in Malaysia where Nigeria finished 5th in the world.”
“And just recently, Nigeria’s young swimmer Abdul Tabur Adama shone at the Africa Junior Swimming Championships in Egypt where he won gold and set two new records in the 50 meters. We also had successes in sports like badminton with Eniola Bolaji at the World Para-Tournament in Spain, wrestling in Morocco, weightlifting in Mauritius, just to mention but a few.”
The two time Ogun State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development concluded by reaffirming that these achievements are only possible due to the humongous support from His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who remains deliberate about the vital role sports plays in delivering the broader Renewed Hope Mandate for the country.
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