By Tayo Ogunseye
South-West Zonal Coordinator and a board member of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF) Emmanuel Egbele has called on all participants at the 22nd National Sports Festival to be fair in their competition for medals.
Ogun State, host of the Games will see over 10,000 athletes from 35 states and Abuja compete in 37 sports including some designated as demonstration sports from May 16 to 30.
The desire to win medals by states’ representatives could draw intense rivalries which could impact the essence of the Games designed to discover talents.
Egbele urged all participants to play by the stipulated rules and regulations with fairness and sportsmanship utmost on their minds.
“With the 22nd National Sports Festival just a few days away, it’s quite instructive to note that this is our own Olympics and the biggest in Africa. As part of national development, the best of athletes in every sport produced from this Games will represent the country at international competitions so, all athletes and officials must compete with fairness and avoid gamesmanship.” He emphasized.
The convener of the glamorous Emmanuel Egbele Annual Scrabble Tournament (EEAST) further stated that the inability to produce the best of talents for the country due to unfair competition would not augur well for the country’s sports development, especially with the new mandate of the National Sports Commission in making it an economy based.
“Good talents draw the interest of individuals and corporate organizations which will bring the mileage and sponsorship required for more investments in sports development. So what is needed is to show that though recreational, sports is a serious business and as such should have a positive perception.
This is the first National Sports Festival to be organized under the new National Sports Commission so, there must be a deliberate effort at getting the best from these Games.” He affirmed.
