Sports
Lagos To Put Marathon On World Sports Calendar
The Lagos State Government says it will put the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon on the World Marathon Calender.
Governor Babatunde Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State said this at the weekend, during the 5th edition of Access Bank Lagos City Marathon.
Sanwo-Olu said that the marathon had been able to boost the tourism potential of the state hence, should be sustained.
“We want to put Lagos Access Bank marathon on the marathon calendar of the world and we are on our way there.
“Very soon, it will become a marathon that all the world will come and join us and this is the beginning of our tourism agenda.
“We want Lagos to remain on the tourism master plan of athletes worldwide, we want marathon to also become part of us because we all want to live a healthy life.
“We want it to be a work and play environment, we want to keep fit and we want to make healthy running, a way of life for all of us, so that we can reduce sicknesses amongst ourselves,” he said.
The governor added that the marathon was also to ensure a communion where family members, both young and old, could come together, have fun, exercise, enjoy themselves and make money out of it.
Sanwo-Olu, who joined the race at Marina to Eko Athlantic said his administration would continue to intensify efforts to proffer ways of boosting sport, business activities and tourism in the state.
Meanwhile, winners have emerged at the Lagos city marathon, as Kenya’s David Tumo came first after breaking the marathon’s record with two hours, ten minutes and twenty three seconds (2:10:23).
Also, Kenya’s Cherop Jemutai became the first female to cross to finish line while Kebele Chala came second.
Another athlete, Emmanuel Gyan emerged as the first Nigerian male and Deborah Pam first Nigerian female.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.
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