Gov Udom seeks national sports festival for youth participation
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Akwa Ibom Governor Udom EmmanuelGovernor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has said that the poor performance of Nigeria at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil and absence from the African Nations Cup in Gabon necessitated his decision to initiate the Youth Sports Festival in the state.According to Gov Udom the sports festival will help the country scout for stars for future competitions.This, he said while speaking at the official opening of the first edition of Akwa Ibom Youth Sports Festival 2017 for basic and secondary schools at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.He affirmed the sports festival’s capability to make a new start in sports talent hunt in the country.“we are taking that challenge that as a country never again should Nigeria, the most populous black nation of the entire universe, be missing in the African Cup of Nations.“A country of over 170 million people at any point in time should be able to produce over 20 footballers. So we are taking the initiative to catch them young and to represent this country in future sporting events.“Our second challenge comes from the last Olympics in Brazil. You will see a country with a population of three million people winning series of gold medals in the last Olympics and we came back with only bronze medal.“We are telling the world that Akwa Ibom is taking the initiative to produce future stars and talents. If a country with three million people could win many of the track and field events, that Akwa Ibom with over 6.2 million people can duplicate same in the nearest future,” Gov Udom said.He urged the youths to see sports beyond entertainment, adding that the business side of it is certainly a goldmine, emphasizing the underlying trick of world-class athletes and sportsmen, which lies in their prior exposure to world-class facilities.Governor Emmanuel encouraged the youths to have the right attitude towards sport events, affirming the state government’s effort to give them all the necessary encouragement to actualize their dreams.Discover more from NewsBreakers
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