Akwa Ibom To Focus On School Sports, Says Sports Director

Source: pointblanknews.com
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The Akwa Ibom Director of Sports, Anedi Dickson, on Wednesday said the state would focus on schools to discover talents for the 19th National Sports Festival (NSF) in Calabar in 2014.

Dickson told the News agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on telephone that coaches in the state had been mandated to prepare programmes for the project to succeed.

He said the coaches were expected to submit their programmes for the year by the end of the month, so that preparations for the festival, tagged “Paradise Games,'' could start.

“Well, 2013 is going to be a better year for us because a lot of things have been outlined by the government that need to be achieved.

“And as part of the process towards achieving the goal of engaging athletes, the Olympic-size stadium will be opened for their training.

“Schools will be the focus of coaches across the eight sports zones in the state, to harness talents ahead of the 19th NSF.

“The state will also stage two sports festivals before the middle of the year, to test the talents discovered,' Dickson said.

Akwa Ibom was 10th with a total of 44 medals, comprising seven gold, 18 silver and 19 bronze medals at the 18th edition of the Games, hosted by Lagos State between Nov. 27 and Dec. 9.

He appealed to the government of Cross Rivers to surpass what Lagos State was able to do, as hosts of the Games.