Sports

Minister Re-assures Olympics Bound Anyanacho, Oshonaike Others

Published

4 years ago

June 24, 2021

Joel Ajayi

With 29 days to the commencement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare has reassured Olympics Bound- Athletes Elizabeth Anyanacho and Funke Oshonaike that the country was looking forward to celebrating their podium success after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The Minister gave this assurance when he hosted Anyanacho and Oshonaike in his office in Abuja on Thursday. “The next 29 days we will be racing non stop. I recall when I visited Elizabeth’s camp in Maitama, Abuja, I saw her and two others who are also African champions training. I saw the commitment, dedication and we made commitment to support her which we did almost immediately. We got her adopted on the spot after we made a pitch for her , the adopter proceeded and paid the cash that same day.”

The Minister stated further “Elizabeth is a young, exceptional and extremely promising lady who is almost at the zenith of her career , even if it is just at the African continent level. She earned the ticket to the Olympics as a result of hardwork”.

Speaking on Funke Oshonaike who is making a record 7th appearance at the Olympics, he said “This lady has been terrific and through a lot, any other young person would have given up in this country. she struggled through school and she’s remained committed and has continued to excel accordingly. We are very proud of you and look forward to a good performance at the Olympics. In an event dominated by Asians, you have proven that you are a special breed.”

On plans to motivate the athletes further, the Minister affirmed “We are going to have a program once team Nigeria list is ready, It’s a 20 minutes documentary on TV stations profiling each of our athletes and their exploits because Nigerians don’t really know what we have . It’s something we also hope to put on the international media circuit. We need to put the statistics out there about each of our athletes so that the world will know that Nigeria got talents. Like the Americans also say” if you got it you flaunt it.

It will be interesting to flaunt an18 year old who has beaten the African champion and won the African Taekwondo Championships. I think this will inspire other athletes because this country must not wait until they attain podium performance before we celebrate and validate them. I am glad you’re here to present the gold medal you won at the African Championship. I have faith that after the Olympics there will be a similar medal to celebrate and that you’ll inspire so many other young people from 15,16,17,18 year olds to partake in any sports for our country.I Congratulate your coach Chika Chukwumerije and encourage him to do more”.

Funke Oshonaike expressed appreciation to the Minister for his efforts at developing sports and taking care of athletes welfare. “I’m so happy to be here and to say a huge thank you to the Honourable Minister for all that you are doing for our sports.This is the first time we are having athletes adopted and I know you will do more. Thank you so much and God bless you”

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Sports

Nigeria Wheelchair Basketball Federation Commends BetKing for its Support to the Sport

Published

9 hours ago

March 17, 2025

The Gleamer

The President of the Nigeria Wheelchair Basketball Federation, Seyi Johnson, has praised the Corporate Social sagacity of BetKing for it’s support to the growth of the Sports in the Country.

Wheelchair Basketball which represents one of the fastest growing Para-Sports in the Country, has been boosted with the partnership and Sponsorship from BetKing.

The President of the Federation, Seyi Johnson said BetKing has shown that they are a true lover of Nigerian Sports and special sports in particular, with all its doing for the Federation.

” On behalf of the Nigeria Wheelchair Basketball, the entire board and every stakeholder in the Sport, I want to personally appreciate BetKing for all they are doing.

” Words are too few to express my sincere gratitude to them because they have really shown that this is where their mouth is, with the kind of support we are getting from them”.

” When we approached them , it was just like they were already expecting us and they showed us that they truly understand the Nigeria Sports history and the role Special Sports have been playing in the country’s success at International competitions over the years”.

The President of the Federation added that they need more of such support from the Corporate bodies to complement what the Government is doing, especially when you look at the restructuring and revamping going on in Nigerian Sports at the moment with the coming of the National Sports Commission, NSC.

” We need more of the Corporate players to come assist and follow in the footsteps of BetKing and with that we will see rapid growth of Nigeria Para-sports “,he stated.

He concluded by revealing that the Nigeria Wheelchair Basketball team has a very good chance of qualifying for it’s first ever Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year when the qualifiers hold later this year in South Africa and BetKing has been playing a major role to ensure this is achieved.

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