A 1990 Auckland, New Zealand Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Yusuf Alli, appealed to government to organise camps for athletes discovered at the 18th National Sports Festival in Lagos.

The festival, tagged “Eko 2012,” which held between November 27 and Dec. 9, was won by Delta with A total medal haul of 116 gold, 99 silver and 75.

Rivers was second with 76 gold medals, 71 silver and 70 bronze totalling 217, while hosts, Lagos State, placed third with 64 gold, 47 silver and 71 bronze, totalling 182 medals.

Alli, reputed for long jump, told newsmen in Lagos that organising camps for the talents was the only way to develop them.

He said that one of the factors that contributed to Nigeria’s excellent performances in the 1980s was discovering, nurturing and encouraging new talents.

“The same system that discovered the Mary Onyalis, the Yusuf Allis still exists, if the government will do the right thing for these athletes.

“Others that have been discovered in the past, where are they now?

“In our era, after athletes were discovered, they were kept in camps and trained by American coaches. We had different camps in Lagos, Ife, etc,’’ he recalled.

Alli noted that at least two or three athletes discovered should be assigned to a coach, to ensure that they were nurtured to stardom.

Alli He said that the essence of the National Sports Festival would not be realised if states did not bring raw athletes to the biennial event.

“Most states have stopped training athletes, all they do is to buy them over. Now that the festival may be made open, every state will now have to train its athletes.

“If other states can emulate Lagos State, the objective of the Games which is talent discovery and promoting unity could be achieved again,’’ he added.