Gov. Alex Otti of Abia said on Friday that his administration has evolved a comprehensive programme to boost grassroots sports in the state.
Otti said this during the kick-off ceremony of the maiden edition of the Abia Governor’s Secondary Schools Unity Games at the Umuahia Township Stadium.
The governor said that the programme would involve the development of sports infrastructure, training, and the exposure of talented athletes to life-changing opportunities and platforms.
He said that the government had initiated engagements with local and foreign partners to begin the pilot phase of the programme.
Otti said that the execution of the pilot phase of the programme would include building model sports centres in communities and urban neighbourhoods.
He said that young people with talents and interests in pursuing careers in sports would be trained by professionals through a structured programme.
“I aim at not just shaping participants into excellent sportsmen but building whole individuals equipped with all it takes to succeed in the field of play and the larger arena of life,” Otti said.
He also assured his government’s resolve to restore physical and health education as a major subject in primary and secondary schools.
He said that inter-school sports would be revived to instil the spirit of healthy competition and excellence among youths.
According to him, an important aspect of the programme for sports development will include the setting up of a College of Sports Excellence within the Nsulu Games Village in Abia.
“Going forward in Abia, we shall run sports as a professional venture with a key focus on value creation across the value chain for all categories of stakeholders.
“Additionally, we shall integrate sports into our economic development agenda, and we seek to make Abia a major hub for global sports talent.
“Our medium- to long-term agenda is to push more Abians into the global sports arena to compete with their peers from other parts of the world.
“We are also cutting out the needless bureaucracy that stifled the development of the sports sector before now,” he said.
Otti called on stakeholders to partner with the government to drive its agenda for the sports ecosystem in Abia.
He congratulated the competitors in the games for making it to the state level.
He also urged them to see the tournament as an opportunity to learn teamwork, leadership, and resilience.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Mr. Nwaobilor Ananaba, commended the state government for its efforts towards sports development.
Ananaba said: “The government is intentional about sports, and a roadmap has been designed in line with the governor’s campaign promises to strengthen rural sports development.”(NAN)
