Sports
Kaduna Promises Special Scholarship Packages For Talented Athletes
The Kaduna State Government will provide talented athletes identified at the ongoing sixth edition of the State Sports Festival with special scholarship packages, an official disclosed yesterday in Kaduna.
The state’s Deputy Governor, Hadiza Balarabe, made the disclosure while declaring open the festival at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium.
She said the state government would, in view of the importance attached to sports, provide incentives such as scholarship packages to students who distinguished themselves in events.
“To provide these incentives, the state has instituted special scholarship packages for those who excel in sports,” Balarabe declared.
She said the state government was aware of the importance of sports in promoting the socio-economic development of states.
The deputy governor pointed out that this knowledge led to the need to give the state’s Sports Development Ministry the necessary support to ensure the festival was held annually.
She said the state government was hopeful the festival would enable young athletes in the state to find national and international space to exhibit their talents.
“Sports generally enhance students’ academic performance. Youths involved in sports are also most likely not to engage in drugs and they do not drop out of school.
“Sports unites people, and it is as such a driving force that makes us to begin to provide sports facilities in all public schools,’’ Balarabe said.
She charged the chairmen of all local governments in the state to support events at the grass roots to ensure an all-round development.
“Also, let me call on corporate organisations and public-spirited individuals to come and partner with us in ensuring this sports festival is sustained annually,” she said.
Tidesports source reports that over 2,000 athletes and officials from the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state are featuring in the one-week event.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.