Sports
AFN to organize U-13 competition in three centres, probes its finances
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, says it will organise three U-13 athletics competition in three centres across Nigeria.
This was one of the resolutions reached at its executive board meeting, held virtually on Saturday September 16, 2023 and presided over by Tafida Gadzama, its First Vice President.
The competition will be funded by World Athletics under its Grant for Growth Under 13 National Athletics Competition project.
The three centres are Abuja, Kaduna and Portharcourt/Enugu.
The AFN executive board also resolved to look into its finances, its income and expenditure since the start of 2023.
This will be the first time in over two decades an executive board of the federation will probe its own activities to ensure transparency and accountability.
The executive board appointed a five member committee led by the First Vice President, Gadzama to look into the books of the federation since the start of this administration viz its income and expenditure and report their findings to the executive board.
Other members of the committee are Mrs Maria Worphil, Mr Victor Okorie, Mr Samuel Onikeku and Mr Dare Esan.
In view of the unsavoury reports in the media of athletes not getting paid by road race organizers in Nigeria, the board mandated the road race committee
to come up with a road running manual to assist road race organisers in getting started or to help produce quality events of an international standard and
define the criteria that must be met in organizing a road running event in Nigeria.
In other decisions reached at the meeting, the AFN board resolved to draw up a Safeguarding Policy in compliance with World Athletics’ demand.
The Safeguarding policy sets expectations as well as defines the specific roles and responsibilities of the federation in protecting our athletes.
Most importantly it gives confidence and trust to our athletes that there are structures and processes in place to report safeguarding abuse.
The board agreed to appoint a safeguarding officer to see to the implementation of the policy without further delay to make our athletes feel safe and
supported.
The board also deliberated on the performance of Team Nigeria at the 19th World Athletics Championships which was held in Budapest, Hungary between August 19 and 27, 2023 and resolved that future participation of athletes in the championships and indeed other international competitions will not be limited to just securing the entry standard set by World Athletics and, as the case may be, the AFN, but also other factors which the technical committee has been mandated to come up with and present to the board for approval.
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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