Illorin 2017 youths sports festival: FCT upbeat for glory

As the All Nigeria National Youths Sports Festival kicks off early next week, Federal Capital Territory Administration through its Sports department, has expressed confidence on clinching several laurels when the game get underway.

Speaking to our reporter in Abuja, the FCT Director of Sports, Chief (Mrs.) Dilichukwu Onyedimma, said that her office has perfected moves to capture as much medals as the events qualified by the FCT at the zonal level.

According to the former board member of the Nigeria Football Federation, everything is working as planned just as the zonal qualifiers has given the FCT the edge to vie for the events.

She, however, promised that efforts being made to ensure that youth sports development is key in the FCT is to build a formidable sports development to create employment for the youths of their category in the future.

Also edifying is the assurance on the FCT U-17 handball team which is in high spirits to win laurels in the two categories of handball competition when the All Nigeria Youths Sports Festival get underway. The team which was as well victorious at the zonal level competition held in Jos, the Plateau State capital, fought for the available two sole tickets for male and female categories determined who represents the zone in the 2017 National Youth Games in Ilorin next month.

The handball team, which consists of secondary school boys and girls, expressed strong optimism that they will pick the medals in Illorin Kwara State just as they did at the zonal levels.

In an exclusive chat with coach of both male and female categories of FCT U-17 handball teams, Ayo Joshua, he promised that the team will not only win the number one spot just as they did during the zonal trials but will as well win the gold medals at the tournament proper in Kwara State.

He said: We will make sure that we win for both male and female handball teams. The male and female categories have seven teams each registered for the qualification series in Jos. Despite budget deficit in the country, the FCT Sports Department tried to motivate the teams financially and otherwise. Though their efforts might not be enough, we have to find a way of motivating ourselves. It is our responsibility to make sure that the teams come out victorious in the tournament. The boys and girls are highly motivated and are physically and mentally ready.

In preparation towards the tournament, the coaching crew arranged friendly matches for both categories so as to keep them fit and well prepared for the competition. Also, we raise their confidence level and make them psychologically ready for the battle ahead. We make sure that all these players are under the age of 17. To achieve this, we requested for their birth certificates and also visited their schools and parents to further confirm what they submitted. We recall that Team FCT won the team with the youngest athletes in the last edition of the competition.

Responding to a question, he said:It was difficult to get the team together because the game of handball is not popular among the youth especially in the schools. We had to organise many handball competitions in order to get a team like this. It took us months to get the team together; we went to several schools in all the six Area Councils in FCT before we came out with these youthful teams.

He believes that the present National President of Nigeria Handball Federation, Sam Ochiro, will take the game to the next level, which according to him, will change the sport in Nigeria.