More than 1,000 athletes would jostle for glory in the maiden edition of the Bayelsa Sports Festival tagged, Access Bank prosperity games scheduled for March 26 to April 1.
The Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Daniel Igali, stated this while addressing newsmen in Yenagoa on Wednesday.
Igali said hosting the festival became necessary due to the exploits and the global attention the state has received in the last three years.
He attributed the positive publicity sports had attracted to the state government to the governor’s commitment to sports development.
The commissioner said that 1,144 athletes comprising 592 females, and 552 males would participate in the one-week event in 14 different sports at various Local Government Areas of the state.
Igali said the festival would feature 14 events which include, Athletics; Boxing; Canoeing; Judo; Football; Chess; Karate; Table tennis; Draught; Swimming; Taekwondo, Scrabble, Para swimming, Wrestling, and Weightlifting
While appreciating Access Bank for sponsoring the event, Igali said the financial institution has shown what was expected of corporate organizations in the state.
He thanked the Governor and his deputy for the premium attention it has rendered to sports development in the state.
Also speaking, Braveman Wodi, Co-chairman of the games and Director of Sports, said that the move to host the festival became imperative.
Wodi said the festival would focus basically on local athletes who are yet to participate in the National Sports Festival.
He said the target of the showpiece was to discover young talents that would represent the state and the country on the global stage.
The Director said that the state was desirous of hosting a befitting fiesta and as well discovering hidden talents across the state.
Mr. Kakiri Miebi-Flint, the Relationship Manager, at Access Bank, said the event would improve the lives of the youths in the state.
He said it would also bring out raw talents from the various local government and communities, saying that their services are beyond mere banking.
The manager who expressed happiness about the collaboration with the State government said that it is part of the bank`s corporate social responsibility to the people of the state.
