Lagos State To Reward Its Athletes

The Lagos State Government has concluded plans to reward its athletes to the 2009 16th National Sports Festival held in Kaduna with mouth watering cash prize.

Though no date has been fixed for the ceremory to be chaired by the state governor, His Excellency Babatunde Raji Fashola at the state seat of power in Alausa.

The award ceremony according to the Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Prince Ademola Adeniji-Adele is to appreciate the effort of the athles who did the state proud at the KADA 2009 Festival.

The commissioner, said that the state sports council have been charged to execute result oriented competitions aimed at preparing the state athletes toward a successful outing at the 17th National Sports Festival billed for Port Harcourt, Rivers State later this year.

Among the programmes to be executive by the sports council is the coming sports months slated for April where athletes will be in action in 25 sporting events.

300 athletes will also enjoy a monthly training grants of ten thousand naira each as part of efforts by the state government to create a condusive environment for the athletes to remain focus ahead the next sports festival.

While reacting on the issue, a cross section of the state's athletes that spoke with sportsweight.blogspot.com, said the ceremony was long overdue as they believed that the state did not appreciate their efforts to make the state clinched the seventh position at KADA 2009 despite poor preparations towards the KADA Games.

The athletes complained the inability of the state to compensate their athletes that had made the state proud in good time had lured them to pitch tent with other states tat are ready to offer them good offer prior to the next National Sports Festival tagged Rivers 2010.

Investigation showed that the problem was not peculiar to Lagos State as some states are yet to fulfil their promises while others are yet to pay their athletes since the Games came to end in February 2009.