Governor Chukwuma Soludo has tasked the Anambra State Sports Development Commission on engagement programmes to get more people on board to do more for the people in the sports sector.

 

Speaking at a pre-competition press conference for the 2024 edition of Anambra State School Sports Festival, Governor Soludo, who acknowledged abundance of sports talents in the state, said his administration is resolute in bringing out the best in children in order to channel their minds to meaningful ventures to enable them contribute to societal development.

Acknowledging enormous benefits in previous editions of the sports festival, Governor Soludo, represented by his Chief of Staff, Ernest Ezeajughi, called on relevant stakeholders to key into sports project in the state to achieve better results, and maintained that most things his administration is doing is for a better tomorrow.

 

Anambra State Commissioner for Youth Development, Patrick Agha-Mba, who thanked Governor Soludo and the Chairman of Anambra State Sports Development Commission, Patrick Onyedum for their efforts in sports development, said it has helped in talent cultivation and showcasing of the state to the outside world.

Earlier in his address, Onyedum described the Anambra State Sports Solution Initiative, ANSSI, as the vehicle with which Governor Soludo is revolutionizing sports in the state, adding that within two years of his administration, the glory of Anambra sports is returning at an encouraging speed.

 

He explained that in 2023, about six hundred primary and secondary schools registered and participated in the sports festival that has been yielding fruitful results, adding that from that festival, young, raw talented children from across Anambra who went to National Youth Games in Asaba and shook the country at that level of sports development were discovered

According to Onyedum, as at the close of registration, about seven hundred and fifty-six primary and secondary Schools have indicated interest to participate in the 2024 edition of the festival, saying that as the preparation for this year’s National Youth Games in Asaba, Delta State has started, the young and raw talents that will be discovered from the festival will constitute up to eighty-five percent of Anambra team to the Games.

 

Correspondent, Joseph Egbeocha gathered that this year, the students will compete in twelve sporting events, including Athletics, Basketball, Chess, Football, Scrabble, Swimming, Table and Lawn tennis, Taekwondo, Volleyball, Cricket and Ncho.

The games that will kick off on second May and end on seventh June shall be in three categories of Under-thirteen, Under-fourteen and Under-eighteen community, local government area, senatorial district and state levels.