National Youth Games Begin In Abuja With Over 4000 Athletes.

Over four thousand athletes are participating in the first National Youth Games organized by the National Sports Commission (NSC), which was flagged off yesterday at a colourful ceremony at the Abuja National Stadium.

 Declaring the games open, the Vice President, Namadi Sambo who was represented by the Honourable Minister of Sports and Chairman of the NSC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said he was impressed with the large turnout of participants to the games.

According to him, the gesture was a demonstration of the nation's commitment as a people to create a solid and sustainable platform for youth development through Sports.

He noted that the Goodluck Jonathan administration recognizes the pivotal role of sports in nation building, hence the resolve to develop this sector to a world-class level.

The Vice President, who commended the NSC for its foresight in initiating the games, stated that the recent victory of Nigeria in the Under 17 FIFA World Championships was a confirmation of the great potentials that exist in the country. “Our grassroots Sports developmental efforts must therefore be geared to continuously put Nigeria in the prime of global Sports.”

The National Youth Games is an initiative of the NSC to serve as a platform for the early identification and discovery of talents. Athletes from the ages of 13 -17 are participating in 14 sports at this inaugural event which starts today, 8th December, 2013 in Abuja and will last until December 15th, 2013.

 The 14 sports are: boxing, badminton, handball, squash, taekwondo, track and field, weightlifting, basketball, football, para-powerlifting, table tennis, tennis, volleyball and wrestling.