The Nigerian contingent led the Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye left Lagos for Gaborone, Botswana yesterday night for the 2nd Edition of the African Youth Games tagged Gaborone 2014 slated for May 22nd and 31st of this month.
Nigeria would be participating in 16 sports which include athletics, badminton, taekwondo, wrestling, boxing, cycling, judo, karate, weightlifting, volleyball, swimming, table-tennis, rowing, canoeing, golf and football.
The top NSC boss who is very passionate about development of sports in Nigeria through grassroots and catching them young declared that the Nigerian contingent is storming Gaborone to contest for the top position in the competition.
The host country Botswana will host 2,500 athletes from 54 countries from Africa that would compete in the 2nd African Youth Games in Gaborone. 21 sports will be competed for these countries.
“I have always believed in catching them young and also developing sports right from the youth stage. This will give any nation the reservoir and pool of athletes not only to pick from but to bank on to achieve success in sports generally.
“So I am excited to lead these greater tomorrow athletes to the Gaborone 2014 African Youth Games and I am confident of a good outing for Nigeria.
“We need to start building our sports from the youth level and this kind of tournament will allow us to assess these athletes better. With hard work and exposure to other competitions I am sure we will get some athletes that will do us proud in the nearest future.
“Don’t be surprised if some of them qualify later for 2016 Olympic Games because this is our target.
“The athletes have prepared well for this competition and based on what we have seen so far from the various camps (of the 16 sports) I believe with the right condition and motivation from our side and also God’s backing we should come back with smiles on our faces after the Botswana Games”, Elegbeleye assured.
