‘Hosting Continental Event, Extra-Motivation For Wrestlers’

The President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Daniel Igali has said that hosting the African Wrestling Championships would be an extra motivation for Nigerian wrestlers.
Igali told newsmen in Abuja that Nigeria’s hosting of the event would go a long way to boosting the sport in the country.
The world wrestling body gave its approval for Nigeria to host the championships at its meeting in Paris, France on August 20.
Igali, who is currently in Paris, said he was happy that Nigeria was found worthy to host the event, assuring that that the hosting was a huge task that would be performed well.
“We are happy to be found worthy. We should not be congratulating ourselves yet because we have been given a responsibility.
“We should not pat ourselves on the back until we have done the job well and the championship is over.
“Right now, I am very envious of the athletes because I never had the opportunity of the game coming to Nigeria. We all had to leave the country for tournaments all the time.
“The athletes have extra motivation now because they are training and competing in their country at the same time.
“They have got the support of the fans and they should be very happy that they are hosting the rest of Africa,’’ Igali stated.
The Olympian gold medalist said that Port Harcourt, expected to host the event, had necessary facilities to ensure a hitch-free event.
“Port Harcourt has the necessary facilities, just a few things to put in place at the city centre, which is the venue of the event.
“ We have the technical manpower, secured hotels and all that we need for the preparation is moving well at the moment,’’ he added.
Nigeria beat Tunisia to win the hosting rights for the tournament, scheduled to take place from February 7 to February 11 next year.