Athlete Wants Competitions Ahead Of Commonwealth Games

A long distance athlete,
Kefas Williams, has urged the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to organise competitions to prepare the country’s representatives to the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.
The 2014 Commonwealth Games are scheduled to hold from July 23 to August 3 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Williams told newsmen in Lagos that the federation also needed to encourage long distance athletes and organise events to develop the sport.
Williams won the gold in the 5,000m event at the 67th All Nigeria/Cross River Open Athletics Championships held in Calabar in June 2013.
“The AFN has been doing well for athletes but I believe that they can go a step further by organising more long distance meets.
“We have what it takes to succeed at the Commonwealth Games because the potential is there. We have talents in all parts of the country.
“Organising more competitions will expose a good number of us and help our progress. I can assure you that many teenagers are interested in long distance events,” he said. Williams urged the federation to implement a grassroots development programme that would seek to develop youngsters for national and international competitions.
“A grassroots development programme for long distance races will be a wonderful initiative. We need to go back to the grassroots and create a good plan to discover talents.
“So many youths are interested in long distance races. We need to start looking into other areas where we can make the country proud at the Commonwealth Games,” the athlete said.