Sports
Lagos To Upgrade Community Stadia To Int’l Standard – LSSC
The Director-General of Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), Babatunde Bank-Anthony, has said that the government has given approval to upgrade all the community stadia to international standard.
Bank-Anthony made the revelation in an interview with newsmen in Lagos while commenting on the various ongoing works in stadia across the state.
He said the state with a population of about 18 million should afford better sports structures which would be of international standard.
“What we are doing now is to upgrade all our community stadiums to international standard, Campos mini stadium has already been given a facelift, the Isheri community stadium will also be upgraded.
“The Maracanna Stadium in Ajegunle will also be upgraded to meet international standard, these are community stadiums but we believe that a state with a population of 18 million deserves better.
“The stadiums uplift will go round and we will not leave any behind which tells the reason we are presently having a brand new stadium in Onikan and the resurfacing at the Teslim Balogun.
“All what we are doing is to have a state that can boast of good infrastructure for grassroots development of sports which we are already reaping the rewards,’’ he said.
Bank-Anthony said that the state would now concentrate more on the grassroots development of sports, adding that athletes from the state were already making waves across the country and internationally.
“We are concentrating on grassroots development of sports which we think is the basis of sports development. Our athletes are sourced even from the schools.
“The state has been stressing the need for proper source for the national team and the source is the grassroots where the potential athletes are based and this is where we discover them.
“Our stadiums will provide the best facilities for the development of the athletes, international standards for them to grow and become the best.
“We are already reaping the rewards of these investments because some of the swimmers in the state are already making waves.
“Someone like Naomi Oke, a swimmer who represented Nigeria and came with nine gold medals,’’ 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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