Sports
Council Deploys Coaches To Schools For Talents Discovery
Acting General Manager,
Osun Sports Council, Akin Adio, has said that 25 coaches in different sports had been deployed to schools to discover new talents.
Adio told newsmen in Lagos that it was part of the state’s plan to improve grassroots sports as well as help young lads to develop their talents.
“Some coaches that specialised in various sports have been employed on contract and posted to schools to raise formidable athletes for the state and zone.
“The joy of this is that it cut across all the sports because we believe that we have talents in all the sports that must be encouraged from the prime,’’ he said.
Adio said that the coaches were directed to organise training programmes in a way that it would not clash with the academic time table of the students.
“Education and sports will play vital roles in the future of our children and we don’t want a sector to distort the other, the two can run concurrently.
“It’s always busy weekends for the young athletes as they have adequate time to engage in comprehensive training activities under the supervision of the seasoned coaches,’’ he added.
According to him, grassroots competitions are also organised by the council to evaluate the upcoming athletes on their level of improvement.
He said that the competitions also attracted large spectators.
“We make sure that some grassroots competitions are held occasionally for them to have an opportunity to exhibit their skills even with their parents support,’’ he said.
He boasted that the state’s athletes would be a force to reckon with at competitions of various age grades in the country.
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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