Mr Livinus Agwu, the newly appointed acting Director of Sports, Enugu State Sports Council, has appealed for funds from the state government to move sports forward.

Agwu told newsmen in Enugu that the council needed funds and other logistics to plan adequately for sports development.

He said that Enugu, being a sports-loving state, had the potential of producing talented athletes and coaches who could hold their own anywhere.

“We have viable sportsmen and women but we lose them to other states because of a lack of funds to assist them or gainfully employ them.

“Today’s sports need money to keep it moving because it is capital intensive and can also generate revenue and promote the image of the state nationally and internationally,’’ he said.

He also appealed to government and philanthropists to assist the council to develop sports.

According to him, the council is the hub for producing talents and coaches and we has the raw talents to pick from.

On National Sports Festival, Agwu said the council had sensitised the coaches to go to the grass roots to fish out talents who would represent it at zonal eliminations and the festival in November.

“Our intention first and foremost is to build our staff morale because before now their morale has been low and we want to wake the coaches up,’’ Agwu said.

The director said training of athletes had already commenced but the problems being faced by the council was that of poor funding.

Agwu said the council had also submitted estimates for the state’s participation in a mini-state festival in August, zonal eliminations for ball games in October and then the festival proper.

“I assure you that the council will change the records and situation of the state at competitions,’’ he said.