THE Director of Sports, Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), Olusegun Kolawole, on Wednesday said the state government’s drive toward grassroots sports development was unmatched.

Kolawole, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the Lagos State Secondary School Traditional Sports championships at the Mobolaji Johnson Hall, Rowe Park, Yaba.

NAN reports that the state is sponsoring the second edition of the Traditional Sports competition which includes Ayo, Abula, Langa and Kokowa for both junior and senior secondary schools.

The competitions have over 35 schools participating with over 500 students showcasing their skills at the event.

On the drive to promote grassroots development of sports, Kolawole said it had made the state’s dream of becoming the sports hub in Africa was gradually becoming a reality.

“The Lagos State drive toward grassroots development of sports is unmatched, and our mission at becoming the sports hub of Africa is gradually becoming a reality.

“That is why the sports-loving Gov. Akinwumi Ambode will not rest on his oars in ensuring that we capture our youths from the grassroots, especially from the secondary schools.

“He expects that we can groom our youths to be champions of Lagos State, especially at the National Youth Games that is coming up and the National Sports Festival.

“All these games are indigenous because they are traditional games — Abula, Ayo, Langa, and Kokowa.  We want to believe that we will be able to get some talents and groom them,’’ he said.

Kolawole said he hoped that one day the indigenous games would be staged during the Olympics, adding that the turnout was impressive.

“I know that someday, our traditional sports will be staged in Olympics where Nigeria will be in the eyes of all because the sports were founded in our country.

“I believe that the government will encourage every aspect of all these traditional sports so that they will be able to take it to Africa Games and Olympic Games.

“The turnout of students is very impressive because on Tuesday we got about 20 schools that registered, but now they are about 35 schools participating in the event,” he said. (NAN)

– Jul. 18, 2018 @ 17:19 GMT |