6th National Youth Games get underway in Ilorin

 

The newly appointed Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mallam Ismalia Abubakar has declared the sixth edition of the National Youth Games open at the University of Ilorin. 

Following the declaration was a match pass parade by different States, that caught the admiration of the spectators. The opening ceremony was colourful and exciting with great display by all participants.

The Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare said, “This edition of National Youth Games will be serving the purpose of which it was strategically designed by the Ministry. Basically, the concept of National Youth Games is to serve as an effective platform for talent identification, development and as well as a level playing ground for young athletes, ranging from age 15 and below to achieve excellence in sports."

Dare further said that this year’s edition of the games is unique as it will produce formidable athletes that will represent Nigeria at the Africa Youth Games in Ethiopia 2022 and the next Youth Olympics games in Dakar, Senegal. 

The Minister then urged all concerned National Sports Federations to take advantage of the games and guide their sports to developmental objective and further develop the identified talents to the benefit of the country.

National Youth Games: Sports Directors, LOC give verdict on Unilorin readiness

The Local Organizing Committee(LOC) of the 2021 National Youth Games are satisfied with the level of preparedness of University of Ilorin ahead of the competition.

Members of the Sports Directors' forum also expressed their delight at the arrangements in place for the games.

Alhaji Ladan, the Sports Director of Kebbi State and Wodi Braveman, his counterpart from Bayelsa State also gave thumbs up to the Local Organizing Committee for their swift reaction in getting more options for the accomodation of athletes and officials when it was discovered that some hostels at the University of Ilorin were not available.

"We commend the LOC and the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports for their quick thinking in making alternate accommodation arrangements for the athletes at the Kwara State Polytechnic which has some newly built hostels when it was discovered that some students at the University of Ilorin were still in session," the Directors chorused.

The former chairman of the Kwara State Sports Council, Tunde Kazeem and the subdean of student affairs at the University were also full of praise for the organizers.

The Director of Grassroots Sports Development in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Dr Bode Durotoye has also confirmed a slight adjustment to the time line of the National Youth Games with the opening ceremony initially scheduled for Wednesday, 13th October, 2021, now moved to Thursday, 14th October, 2021.

Young athletes compete in 37 sporting events as National Youth Games begin in Ilorin

The sixth edition of the National Youth Games will begin in Ilorin, Kwara State on Wednesday, the 13th of October, 2021. Thirty seven sports will be competed in at the games which will hold at the University of Ilorin.

The Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare alongside the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Isma'il Abubakar are expected at the opening ceremony of the event.

Over five thousand participants including athletes, coaches and technical officials as well as other stakeholders will be part of the weeklong competition.

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare says the National Youth Games is one of the most important programmes in his Ministry because of the opportunities to identify raw talents at an early age and provide proper guidance for them.

Corroborating the Minister, the Director of Grassroots Sports Development in the Sports Ministry, Dr. Bode Durotoye gave the example of Odunayo Adekuoroye, one of Nigeria's elite wrestlers who was discovered at an earlier edition of the games.

"We have many examples but let me just use a prominent one of the wrestler Odunayo Adekuoroye. She was discovered at an earlier edition of the national youth games and see how her profile has risen since then.

"We have some young talents that were here a few years ago who have now represented Nigeria in International competitions. We are looking forward to discovering more of such talents in Ilorin this week," Durotoye said.

National Youth Games: Sports ministry vows to go hard on age cheats, false claims of disability

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has warned against age cheats and other sharp practices ahead of the National Youth Games scheduled for October 2021 in Ilorin, Kwara State, vowing to sanction any state found culpable.  

Director of Grassroots Sports Development in the Ministry, Dr Bode Durotoye stated that the 2021 Youth Games has been going on as scheduled in the timeline. He revealed that the Zonal Elimination for eight team sports has just been concluded in the six geo-political zones in the country.

Durotoye said there will be sanctions against states and athletes that falsify age, engage in the use of performance enhancing substances, misrepresent the disability status of special athletes amongst others.

The National Youth Games is Scheduled to hold from 10th to 19th of October 2021 in Ilorin, Kwara state. 

All the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory are expected to participate in the one weeklong annual sporting event, which is an avenue for discovering young talents.

Mohammed Manga

Director (Press & Public Relations)

September 7, 2021

Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development

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