Sports
Delta Hosts National Youth Games For Four Years
Delta State Government, on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Government to host the National Youth Games (NYGs) till 2026.
At the ceremony at Government House, Asaba, last Tuesday Youth and Sports Development Minister, Sunday Dare, signed for the Federal Government, while Governor Ifeanyi Okowa signed on behalf of the state government.
In his remarks, Okowa thanked the minister for his contributions to sports development in the country and for building the youth through sports.
The governor recalled that Delta State had a warm relationship with the ministry, commending Dare for the progress that sports development had recorded under him.
The governor said as a state, Delta remains glad with what the minister has done and is proud of him, adding: ”You did not sit back in Abuja as sports minister, but you went out relating with the states, because the nation is made up of the states and without the states, there is no nation.
“I also want to thank you for the partnership you have with Delta. You realised from the beginning that we played pivotal role.”
He assured that the state government would continue to partner the ministry to discover and grow more talents across the country.
Earlier, the minister had described Delta State as the hub for sports development and commended Okowa for his contributions to the development of new talents across the state and country.
“I am happy that in the next four years, our young talents will find succour in Delta State with the signing of this MoU and I have the belief that our sports will be great through this,” he said.
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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