Akwa Ibom registers 476 athletes, 64 coaches as 2nd NDSF draws near

Akwa Ibom registers 476 athletes, 64 coaches as 2nd NDSF draws near

From Edidiong Stephen, Uyo

As preparations intensify towards the commencement of the second edition of the Niger Delta Sports Festival, a total of 476 athletes and 64 coaches have been registered to represent Akwa Ibom state at the games.

For an athlete to be eligible to participate in the upcoming meet, they must have been registered on the games' portal within the registration time frame which elapsed on Friday, be under the age of twenty and be successful at the pre-games screening exercise.

A breakdown of the numbers provided by the director of coaching in the state Ministry of Sports, Mrs Catherine Ewa, indicates that 250 male and 226 female athletes, as well as 44 male and 20 female coaches have been registered.

In a related development, Akwa Ibom state Commissioner for Sports, Elder Paul Bassey, has expressed optimism that the state contingent will fare just fine at the games.

In a chat, Saturday, Mr Bassey noted that the state was not going to lose sight of budding talents.

""We have complied with the regulations bordering on eligibility of athletes by registering teenagers and youngsters, and for us, while it is important to win as many gold medals as possible at the games, we are also going to be placing a lot of emphasis on unearthing new talents in order to enrich our pool of sports stars for future endeavours." He said.

Akwa Ibom will be competing for honours alongside the other eight states of the Niger Delta region of the country when the games get under way in Edo state on February 20.