Sports
Lagos Propels Youths Dev With School Sports
Lagos State Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Enitan Oshodi has said that the government would hinge youth development on school sports.
Oshodi told newsmen in Lagos that he would collaborate with the state Ministry of Education to identify and nurture talents in schools.
“Government will work with schools within the state to ensure that some of the athletes who are willing to go to school are supported.
“We will rebuild our school sports and we will also re-integrate the use of Physical Education teachers in schools so that most of our students will be introduced to sports early in life,’’ Oshodi said.
He said that coaches would be retrained as part of the effort by the ministry to keep them abreast with modern training techniques.
“We want to get it right from the start and schools are foundations for meaningful sports development, so coaches will be trained in modern techniques and be deployed to schools to identify talents,’’ Oshodi said, adding that the government was commitment to making the welfare of athletes a priority.
“As part of the government’s effort to inspire athletes to do well in major competitions, their welfare will not be compromised.
“The Gov. Babatunde Fashola-led administration will continue to focus on development of athletes for life. This is in line with the sports development policy of the government.
“Our focus on the development of athletes is for life. We had done it in the past and we will continue to give priority to athletes’s welfare.
“No athletes will suffer for representing Lagos State,’’ Oshodi said.
He said that the goal of the government was to engage the athletes in education, while some would be involved in vocational training so as to be useful after quitting sports.
On the hosting of the 18th National Sports Festival in 2012, Oshodi said the state would not have the problem of infrastructure.
“Lagos State has hosted major competitions successfully. I think Rivers State must be commended for the staging of the last festival.
“For us, we are going to make use of the National Stadium, the Teslim Balogun, Agege and Onikan stadia during the 2012 Games.
“For us the festival is not for sports alone but we will also use it to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the state.
“Every state taking part in the festival will surely be at home because Lagos is home to all,’’ Oshodi said.
The championship will run from today to October 12 at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia. On the ground for the championship are athletes from Brazil, Peru, Egypt, Cameroon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Mauritius and Rwanda. They arrived on Sunday.
Some of the other countries were expected in the Abia State capital yesterday. Speaking on the championship, yesterday, Abia State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Nwobilor Ananaba, said the chief host, Governor Alex Otti, has mobilised facilities and the personnel to ensure a successful event.
Speaking through the Special Assistant to the Governor on Sports, Raymond Chima Ukwa, said: “We have the best mats, playing mats, especially the wheelchair playing mats, which is the first of its kind in West Africa.
“If you go around, you’ll see the hall and the preparation that has been made to ensure that people have an equitable world-class playing field.” Thrilled by Governor Otti’s support for the competition, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) President, Francis Orbih, said that, besides making all the necessary arrangements that will ensure a successful hosting of the events, “we will have a Para-Badminton workshop for coaches and players.
“Nigeria is doing well, Abia is doing well, and we want to do better to improve on where we are, which is why all these have been put together by Governor Otti.”
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles began their campaign at the 24th FIFA U20 World Cup with a narrow 1–0 loss to Norway on Monday, despite creating several opportunities to level the game.
Norway took the lead in the 9th minute after being awarded a controversial penalty. The Flying Eagles pressed for an equaliser but were denied two penalty claims in the second half.
Kparobo Arierhi came close in the 47th minute when his shot drifted wide with the goalkeeper beaten, while Tahir Maigana struck the upright in the 63rd minute.
Nasiru Salihu’s rising effort in the 71st minute also went narrowly over the bar, drawing gasps from the crowd.
Seven minutes from time, Maigana again tested Norway with a long-range strike that went just wide as Nigeria continued to pile on the pressure.
Despite their dominance, the Flying Eagles could not find the breakthrough and now turn their attention to Thursday’s clash against Saudi Arabia in their second group match.
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